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On average, the French emitted 9.9 tons of CO2 equivalent in France in 2019. The sources of these emissions can be classified into five main categories: transportation, food, housing, consumption, and public spending. Transportation was the category responsible for the largest greenhouse gas emissions, notably due to car usage alone, which accounted for more than 2 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions.

Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in France

Since the Paris Agreement in 2016, many countries, including France, have committed to reducing their CO2 emissions to combat climate change.
France was ranked 81st among countries with the highest CO2 emissions per capita, with 4.2 tons in 2020. This is a much better score than its neighbor, Germany, which produced more than 7.69 tons the same year. Despite these poor results, carbon dioxide emissions have been decreasing in France since 2006.
Overall, greenhouse gas emissions are decreasing in France, which includes not only CO2 but also other gases such as methane, nitrous oxide, hydrocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Energy savings have helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions per capita in France by nearly 2.5 tons of CO2 over 15 years.

Citizens Facing Global Warming

In 2019, 79 percent of French people believed that citizens were the most capable of effectively acting for the environment. Among the possible measures, just over half indicated that they would no longer use individual vehicles, a solution that may seem effective when observing the CO2 emissions of cars compared to other means of transport.
However, citizens also want the government to take measures to slow down global warming. During the presidential election in April 2022, the environment was the third most important issue for the French, behind purchasing power and the war in Ukraine.
Half of the French thought that the best lever to fight global warming in 2021 was to change the functioning of the economic system by limiting polluting industrial processes, reducing intensive agriculture, and transporting products over shorter distances, for example.