Climate change research in France is highly advanced on international standards. Most notably, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is one of the world’s largest contributors to leading publications in Earth and environmental sciences. The most important CNRS sections from the perspective of climate change research are the National Institute for Earth Sciences...
Green jobs in France fall under the umbrella label of green economy, l’économie verte. This concept comprises, on the one hand, green jobs (emplois verts) including both directly environmentally beneficial jobs (éco-activités) and jobs that contribute to a beneficial environmental impact (activités périphériques); and on the other hand, ‘greening jobs’ (emplois verdissants), referring to traditional...
Thanks to its geographical location and high level of economic development, France is by some measure less impacted by climate change than many other parts of the world. France has, however, a range of regions and populations at risk of suffering disproportionately from the changing climate. Many parts of French territories are poised to experience...
The automobile manufacturing industry is among the economic sectors that have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The PSA Group (owner of the brands Peugeot and Citroën) and the Renault Group are the second and third largest automobile producers in Europe. In 2019, the two groups together sold over 7 million cars...
Protection of biodiversity in France dates back to 1960, when national parks were created, giving the first legal framework for protecting lands that were deemed of cultural and natural importance. Since then, France has acted for the preservation of biodiversity through developing national action plans (with the first ones for the conservation and restoration of...
France has been under lockdown because of COVID-19 since mid-March. As of 19 April, the lockdown has been extended twice and is in force until 11 May. Under the lockdown, people are only allowed to leave home for work (if remote work is not possible), for grocery shopping, seeking medical care, and for a few...
The French energy sector has since the 1970s been dominated by nuclear energy, and in the 2010s nuclear has provided at most over 75% of the country’s electricity. Because of this internationally exceptional feature, France is relatively advanced in transitioning away from fossil fuels. Its CO2 emissions per capita are less than 59% of the...
France puts a price on carbon both through a national carbon tax system and through a common cap and trade system of the European Union. The national carbon tax (officially la composante carbone, CC; more commonly known as la taxe carbone) was launched in 2014. The tax, taking the form of an excise duty, is...
In the final quarter of 2019, France embarked on a new venture to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as the Citizens’ Climate Convention (Convention citoyenne pour le climat) commenced its work on 4 October. Consisting of 150 citizens drawn by lot, the Convention’s task is to draft policy measures that will allow France to reduce...
