French President Emmanuel Macron has called on the heads of 50 of France’s most carbon-emitting firms to halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2032 – promising to double state aid to help them to act, providing they remain in France.
Just a day after returning from the UN climate summit (COP27) in Egypt, Macron invited representatives of 50 of the most climate-damaging industrial sites to discuss how to carry on producing in France whilst drastically reducing their carbon footprint.
"If projects and sites are identified in the next 18 months, if you double your efforts […] we will double the means dedicated to this challenge”, Macron said at the meeting at the Elysée palace on Tuesday.
The current €5bn aid package for de-carbonising industry would also be increased to €10bn, he said.
EN DIRECT | Décarboner notre industrie avec les 50 sites industriels qui émettent le plus de gaz à effet de serre en France. https://t.co/lBaBpDXLU6
— Élysée (@Elysee) November 8, 2022
The 50 industrial companies, which employ close to 30,000 staff, include cement, chemical, iron and steel plants and glassworks. They are owned by about 30 French and international groups, such as Lafarge, Saint-Gobain, ExxonMobil, ArcelorMittal and TotalEnergies.
Together, they account for around 10 percent of France’s greenhouse gas emissions.
A French presidency official said that the fact that “all these emissions are generated on a relatively small number of sites obviously offers a perspective on the ability to de-carbonise them. It also shows how huge the task is”.
Reduce emissions, not production
After calling on the world's nations to "continue to take action" to respond to the climate emergency at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, Macron is keen to pressure France's industries to speed up their reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
This is in line with goals set by the EU to reduce emissions by at least 55 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2030, and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
The new technology and investments needed to ensure that transition will cost billions, hence the state aid package.
But the government does not want to see a drop in production.
"The aim is to cut emissions without cutting production," a spokesperson for the Elysée said.
France and the EU also want to avoid seeing big industries leave the continent and invest in other parts of the world, like the US and China.
"The key is to ensure that reducing the carbon footprint does not result in massive relocation [of companies]", the Elysée said.
France is well aware of the competition: the US passed a bill this summer that provides billions in climate incentives, mainly designed to drastically reduce the cost of renewable energy in factories.
China, which has set a long-term goal to become carbon neutral by 2060, launched its first national carbon exchange in 2021 to create financial incentives for companies to reduce emissions.
