France cut its greenhouse gas emissions by just 1.5 percent in 2025 – far below what is needed to meet its climate goals, according to figures published on Wednesday by the national body responsible for tracking emissions.
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The Atmospheric Pollution Technical Interprofessional Centre, known as Citepa, said the figures show a pronounced slowdown in comparison with recent years.
The decline in emissions slowed to 1.5 percent in 2025, compared with a drop of 1.8 percent in 2024 and stronger cuts in 2023.
“The downward trend in emissions is continuing, although at a slower pace,” the body said in a statement, adding that the current rate “remains insufficient” to meet climate targets.
France aims to cut emissions by around 4 percent per year between 2024 and 2028 under its national low-carbon strategy, which is designed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
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Slowing momentum
The slowdown comes as several wealthy countries struggle to maintain progress on climate action, even as global temperatures continue to approach record levels.
“In France, rollbacks in public policies on the ecological transition are being paid for in hard cash, with greenhouse gas emissions falling three times more slowly than national climate targets in 2024 and 2025,” said Anne Bringault, programme director at Réseau Action Climat, a network of environmental groups.
She described the record of successive governments since 2024 as “deplorable” and called for a “strong response” from public authorities.
Similar patterns are emerging elsewhere. Germany’s environment ministry recently described progress on emissions as “too slow”.
In the United States, emissions rose by 2.4 percent in 2025 after two years of decline, driven by a cold winter and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, said the Rhodium Group, a research centre, in a report published in January.
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Transport and energy challenges
Transport remains the largest source of emissions in France, accounting for 34 percent of the total, yet cuts in the sector reached only 1.4 percent in 2025.
“Many efforts are expected in this sector,” Citepa said.
Energy sector emissions rose slightly after earlier declines, as gains from cleaner electricity production begin to level off. “These significant reductions were strongly linked to changes in the electricity mix,” Citepa said, noting that further gains are now more limited.
At the same time, a rebound in refining activity led to a 10 percent increase in emissions from that sector over the year.
Manufacturing made the biggest contribution to overall reductions, with emissions down 3.5 percent due to lower output in high-emitting industries such as metals and cement, and reduced fossil fuel use.
(with AFP)
