France’s Industrial Emissions Fall Slightly in 2024, But Lack Structural Change

While emissions from France’s 50 most polluting industrial sites are expected to decline slightly in 2024, this decline is primarily due to the slowdown in production, not a real ecological transition.

In a report published Thursday, the Climate Action Network and France Nature Environnement warn of the lack of structural transformation in the industrial sector and call for ambitious decarbonization planning, supported by clear budgetary visibility.

NGOs warn declines stem from reduced production, not true decarbonization, urging ambitious industrial transition plans

The 50 French industrial sites that emit the most greenhouse gases will have released slightly less into the atmosphere in 2024, but mainly due to a decline in production, according to a report by environmental NGOs published Thursday. Industrial emissions, which had seen a “marked decline” (-10.2%) between 2022 and 2023, “only fell by 1.4% in 2024,” the Climate Action Network (RAC), the main network of environmental NGOs, and France Nature Environnement noted in a report.

Furthermore, this trend is due “largely” to a decline in production at these sites, rather than to structural transformations in industrial processes that emit high amounts of greenhouse gases.

Just under 17% of France’s emissions come from the industrial sector, which accounts for approximately 11% of the French economy. It is the third-highest emitting sector in the country, after transport and agriculture. The two associations point the finger of blame, in particular, at steel giant ArcelorMittal, which owns the two industrial sites by far the highest emissions in France, in Dunkirk and Fos-sur-Mer. The steel group has paused its decarbonization projects, calling for more measures to protect European steel from competition, particularly from China.

“Last year, we already observed that the drop in emissions was linked to an overall decrease in production volumes because high-emitting sectors like steel, chemicals, and cement are going through a crisis,” Aurélie Brunstein, a heavy industry specialist at RAC France, explained to AFP. This raises questions “about the sustainability of these emission reductions in the event that activity resumes,” she added.

Emissions from France’s 50 biggest polluting industrial sites are set to fall slightly in 2024

Generally speaking, NGOs regret efforts that are still “too partial to constitute structural and sustainable decarbonization.” The Climate Action Network (RAC) and France Nature Environnement note that one of the factors is not the direct responsibility of manufacturers: they point to “the lack of budgetary visibility,” a major obstacle to investment for players who need “clear guarantees of public support.”

They call on political leaders to “include industrial decarbonization in a coherent industrial plan as well as in a green finance programming law.” Most of the high-emitting sites are concentrated in the industrial basins of Dunkirk in the North, Fos-sur-Mer in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Le Havre-Rouen in Seine-Maritime and in the Grand Est.

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