This country note features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data.
Environment at a Glance: France
France is the largest country by area in the European Union and among the largest economies in the OECD. France territory within Europe, referred to as “metropolitan France”, covers 550 000 km2. It has overseas provinces and other overseas territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans as well as in the Antarctic. Its overall maritime domain covers 11 million km2, most of it associated with overseas territories.
Thanks to its geographic position and its overseas possessions, France embraces a great diversity of land-based and marine ecosystems. Metropolitan France’s subsoil resources include a wealth of building materials, such as limestone, aggregates and gypsum. It also has an abundance of industrial minerals, including kaolin, potassium compounds and silica. However, it has few energy resources: the country relies heavily on nuclear energy. France has the highest share nuclear energy among OECD countries. France’s overseas territories are endowed with natural resources (marine, mineral and botanic resources, and high biodiversity). Metropolitan France’s water resources are unevenly distributed both geographically and seasonally, which can result both in floods and droughts.
The French economy had a high productivity, ensuring good standards of living. The economy is one of the most service-based in the OECD, despite its relatively diversified industrial structure. Some 80% of the population is concentrated in major urban areas.
Since 1990, the largest emissions reductions occurred in the energy and manufacturing sectors and, to a lesser extent, in the residential and tertiary sectors. The transport sector has not significantly reduced its emissions between 1990 and 2022, even though the Covid-19 pandemic caused a significant but temporary drop in in 2020. The land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector absorbs emissions, through the sequestration of CO2 by biomass and soils.
After rising sharply between 1990 and 2005, the carbon sink in the LULUCF sector has been reduced in recent years, from around -50 Mt CO2e in the mid-2000s to around -37 Mt CO2e in 2015. Since then, the decline has accelerated to represent 17 Mt CO2e in 2021. This trend can be explained by an increase in tree mortality due to the combined effect of repeated droughts since 2015 and pests (tree dieback linked to bark beetles, chalarosis, etc.), as well as by a slowdown in stand growth, and by an increase in harvesting.
In 2022, GHG emissions in France, excluding LULUCF, represented 395.7 Mt CO2e. This is 27 % less than in 1990. Transport was the biggest emitting sector in 2022, 32.4 % of emissions excluding LULUCF, followed by the residential and the agricultural sector (around 16%), and the energy, manufacturing/construction and industrial processes sectors (at around 10%). France stands out in the EU for its low share of emissions from the energy industry, due to the high proportion of nuclear power in electricity production.
The per person production-based and demand-based (or footprint) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been steadily declining since 1995 and are well below the OECD averages. Demand-based emissions are higher than production-based ones, meaning that France is a net importer of GHG emissions embodied in its final demand.
The energy mix has remained mainly unchanged since 2000, with the small declines in coal and oil being compensated by an increase in renewables. Primary domestic production accounts for just over half of France's energy supply. Although France now imports almost all the fossil fuels it consumes and has gradually diversified their geographical origin, the introduction of the nuclear power programme has enabled it to export electricity for some forty years. Electricity and natural gas, which emit fewer greenhouse gases than oil and coal, have gradually replaced the latter in the main sectors of economic activity, although oil is still predominant in transport. Renewable energies are playing a growing role in the national energy mix, accounting for 13.3% of total energy supply and 27.1% of electricity in 2023.
France's energy consumption has been slowly declining for several years.
Air quality in France is improving as a result of the reduction in major pollutant emissions. This progress follows the implementation over several years of strategies and action plans in various sectors of activity. Average annual concentrations of pollutants are falling, and the number of areas where health-related air quality thresholds are exceeded is decreasing. However, regulatory air quality thresholds for the protection of human health continue to be exceeded, particularly for ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter with a diameter of 10 μm (PM10) or less.
Unlike for sulfur dioxide (SO2), the sources of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter are multiple and diffuse, which complicates the implementation of measures to reduce these emissions. NOx, which includes nitrogen monoxide (NO) and NO2, comes mainly from combustion processes. Their emissions fell by over 60 % during 2000-2022, mainly due to progress made in the road transport sector: renewal of the vehicle fleet, gradual fitting of catalytic converters and development of other reduction technologies. These advances have offset the increase in traffic and the growth in the number of vehicles on the road.
Over the period 2000-2022, emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 fell by 48% and 65 % respectively. This trend can be explained by the progress made in all sectors of activity, such as the refinement of dedusting techniques in industry and the improved performance of biomass combustion plants. Over the same period, emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), which are notably involved in the formation of O3, have been reduced by 53 %, with a more marked reduction between 2000 and 2010. These compounds are mainly released by agricultural activities and the use of solvents in industry and the residential and tertiary sectors. Vegetation is also a major source of NMVOCs.
According to the latest estimate published in 2021 by Santé publique France (French National Public Health Agency), nearly 40 000 deaths from non-accidental causes are attributable each year to exposure of people aged 30 or more, to PM2.5 in France.
The annual volume of renewable freshwater saw a decrease from 2002 on the mainland and a regional variability across sub-basins. Between 1959 and 2018, the most remarkable change was the increase in evapotranspiration at the annual and seasonal levels: this increase was observed in the majority of sub-basins in autumn and winter and in all sub-basins in spring. During this period, the annual volume of renewable freshwater from precipitation decreased in 41 % of the sub-basins, almost all of which are located in the south of France. The most vulnerable regions in terms of access to water are located mainly in the west. Some of them were frequently subject to severe water use restrictions during the period 2012-2020.
The volume of freshwater abstracted (excluding hydropower) has decreased to about 25 billion m3 per year, with an overall downward trend. Over half of these withdrawals are used to cool power plants. Abstractions for drinking water and the supply of navigation canals each represent between 15 % and 19 % of usage, depending on the year, those for irrigation between 7 % and 12 %, while industrial abstractions account for around 7%.
Some of the water abstracted is not returned to the environment after use. The estimated proportion of returned and consumed water varies greatly depending on the use. According to estimates, the average annual volume of water consumed between 2010 and 2020 is estimated at 4.1 billion m3 in mainland France. Agriculture is the main water-consuming activity (58 % of the total), ahead of drinking water (26 %), power plant cooling (12 %) and industrial uses (4 %), with a variable distribution depending on the river basin.
Abstractions for the production and distribution of drinking water are on a downward trend, with a break in time series in 2007: average annual abstractions have fallen from 5.93 billion m3 over the period 1994-2007 to 5.36 billion m3 since 2007. The volumes abstracted per person have fallen, from 103 m3/inhabitant in 2003 to 82 m3/inhabitant in 2020 (-20 %). Groundwater accounted for 67 % of these abstractions in 2020.
In 2022, France had 22 704 wastewater treatment plants representing a total load of 79 million population equivalent units (p.e.), for a total treatment capacity of 105.8 million p.e. France's wastewater treatment policy, based on bringing collection systems and wastewater treatment plants into compliance, contributes to the quality objectives for aquatic environments and sensitive uses.
France generates more municipal waste per person than the OECD Europe average but less than the OECD average. Most waste are being recovered through recycling, composting or incineration with energy recovery.
At its peak in 2007, the last year of strong growth in the construction sector before the economic and financial crisis of 2008, domestic material consumption (DMC) was close to 910 Mt. Half of this is made up of construction materials (gravel and sand, aggregates) needed for transport infrastructure and buildings.
France has set itself the target of increasing its material productivity (ratio of GDP to DMC) by 30 % over the period 2010-2030, which amounts to producing more value from fewer primary raw materials. In 2021, this productivity reached 3.9 thousand USD PPP per tonne, an increase of 18 % since 2010, and 36% compared with 2007.
Apparent domestic extraction corresponds to the materials extracted or produced on French territory and used by the economy. The extraction of non-metallic minerals (industrial or used mainly in construction: gravel, sand, slate, sandstone, granite, etc.) alone accounted for 62 % of domestic extraction in 2023, and 5.8 tonnes per person. The minerals extracted are mainly used in construction, and consist largely of gravel and sand. In comparison, the extraction of metal ores (iron, gold, aluminium, uranium, etc.) is low (around 0.2 Mt).
By virtue of its geographic position in Europe and overseas, France possesses a very rich natural and cultural heritage; it is a “megadiverse” country. In mainland Europe, France lies at the crossroads of influences and includes 4 of the 11 biogeographic regions. France is therefore situated in 5 of the 37 world biodiversity hotspots recognised by the WWF and IUCN and 4 of these hotspots are located overseas. This variety of territories and bio-geoclimatic influences is reflected in a variety of ecosystems and landscapes. It is not possible to list all ecosystem types that are present in France. Some are particularly emblematic, scarce or endangered and require special attention, such as the mangrove swamps, coral reefs, aquatic plant habitats, wetlands, certain agro-pastoral environments, cave environments, etc. For example, French overseas territories have 10% of the world’s coral reefs (ranked 4th in the world), and therefore make a significant contribution to national and global biodiversity. Within these ecosystems, France has very rich and diverse flora and fauna, both in mainland France and overseas territories (CBD, 2022[1]).
In metropolitan France, 8 % of land (source: TERUTI) has been artificialised, with sealed soils (infrastructure, car parks, buildings) or highly anthropised soils (extraction of materials, landfill sites, artificialised green spaces, sports facilities). This surface area is constantly increasing, even if the rate of artificialisation has slowed down compared with the early 2000s.
By 2022, 17 % of the species on the national Red List were extinct or threatened. In mainland France, between 1989 and 2021, populations of common birds specialising in agricultural environments fell by 36 %, those in built-up environments by 33 % and those in forest environments by 2 %. Between 2006 and 2021, the population of the most common bats fell by 43 %. One of the main causes of these trends is the degradation of natural environments. Between 1990 and 2018, almost 60,000 hectares of meadows, lawns and natural pastures in mainland France were lost to artificial development. Intensive farming practices, agricultural abandonment and the closure of open spaces threaten biodiversity. Climate change is also affecting biodiversity. The resulting acidification of the oceans is threatening coral reefs in particular. Another factor in the erosion of biodiversity is the fact that 60 of the 100 species considered to be the most invasive in the world are already present in the French overseas “départements” and territories.
In response to the pressures and threats weighing on ecosystems, numerous initiatives have been undertaken at all levels. Protective measures have been put in place under the impetus of strategies to create protected areas. In March 2023, there were 6 043 protected areas in mainland France, organised around 17 land protection tools. These include strong regulatory protection, including the core areas of national parks, nature reserves (national, regional or Corsican), protection orders (for biotopes, geotopes or natural habitats) and biological reserves. In 2023, these systems will cover 8 743 km² (i.e. 0.95 % of the land and sea area of mainland France). Other categories of conservation measures (conventional protection such as regional nature parks, land management actions, the European Natura 2000 network) complete this arsenal. France is one of the few OECD countries that already reached the 2030 target to protect 30% of terrestrial land under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF Target 3).
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
The share of environmentally-related tax revenue in GDP has slightly increased during 2014-19, but has been declining since. However, at 2.3% in 2022, it remains above the OECD average. These revenues are mainly levied on the energy sector. Unlike many other OECD countries, the transport sector is little taxed, and pollution taxes represent a higher share of total revenues, albeit still marginal (less than 1% of total revenues).
There exists several different mechanisms and arrangements supporting the use of specific fuels and categories of end users in France. These mainly take the form of partial or full exemptions and refunds from VAT and excise duties on oil products. In many cases, the total volume of the different forms of support is modest, though it can still represent a substantial transfer from the perspective of the recipient. In 2015, with the addition of a carbon tax to the taxation of energy products in France, exemptions to energy-intensive industries that are not part of the EU ETS and are exposed to the risk of carbon leakage were introduced to shield concerned sectors from increases in excise tax rates on fossil fuels. The resulting generalised upward trend in support to fossil fuels from 2014 to 2021 is directly linked to the exclusion of energy-intensive industries from the new carbon tax on fossil fuels.
There are also significant amounts from VAT exemptions for certain petroleum products applicable in overseas French departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion Islands) as well as reduced excise tax rates on certain diesel fuel uses.
With the advent of direct covid support measures, support targeting residential sector increased in 2021, at around 7%. In 2020 the French government ended all public support for research and development projects around coal and unconventional hydrocarbons. More recently, France has pledged to end foreign public financing of coal, oil, and gas projects by the end of 2022 for all projects that do not have greenhouse gas emission mitigation mechanisms. Between 2009 and 2019 this support represented EUR 9.3 billion in public finance for oil and gas (OECD, 2023[2]).
In total, 58.5% of GHG emissions in France were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in France consist of emissions trading system (ETS) permit prices and carbon taxes, which cover 60.4% of GHG emissions in CO2 eq. With roughly 40.7% of total GHG emissions, coverage is largest for carbon taxes. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, cover 49.6% of emissions in 2023. Direct Fossil fuel subsidies cover 40.9% of emissions. About 42% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 eq., a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. Net ECRs are highest in the road transport sector, which accounts for 27% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is negative in the buildings and agriculture & fisheries sectors. Together, these sectors account for 17.8% of GHG emissions (OECD, 2024[3]). .
The share of environmentally-related government R&D budget has remained stable around 2-3% since 2000. The share of renewables in public energy RD&D has increased from 2.2% in 2000 to 16.8% in 2015, to then decrease to 8.5% in 2023.
France is home to relatively high number of environmentally-related inventors. Its number of per person environmentally-related inventions is close to the OECD average and above the OECD-Europe average. Its share in total inventions has also been following the OECD are trend, with a general increase and a decline in more recent years.
France is among the top providers of official development assistance (ODA) in volume, with a strong focus on Africa and the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. France’s priorities include linking the green and social agendas and mobilising finance for sustainable development. France’s total official development assistance (ODA) decreased in 2024 to USD 15.4 billion (preliminary data), representing 0.48% of gross national income (GNI).
In 2022-23, France committed 58.4% of its total bilateral allocable ODA in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions, down from 65.5% in 2020-21. The DAC average was 39% in 2022-23. Twenty-seven per cent of screened bilateral allocable ODA focused on environmental issues as a principal objective, above the DAC average of 9.6%. Fifty-five per cent of total bilateral allocable ODA focused on climate change overall, slightly down from 56.5% in 2020-21 (the DAC average was 34.8%). France had a greater focus on mitigation (72.3%) than on adaptation (67%) in 2022-23. Twenty-five per cent of screened bilateral allocable ODA focused on biodiversity overall, up from 12.8% in 2020-21 (the DAC average was 7.6%).France committed USD 107 million in support of the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean in 2023, USD 76.3 million less than in 2022. The 2023 value is equivalent to 1.2% of France’s bilateral allocable ODA. (OECD, 2025[4]).
References
[1] CBD (2022), Country profiles: France, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=fr.
[4] OECD (2025), Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/france_b991b2e4-en.html.
[3] OECD (2024), Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b44c74e6-en.
[2] OECD (2023), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels: Country Notes, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a3efe65-en.
IEA (2021), France 2021 Energy Policy Review, IEA Energy Policy Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/2c889667-en
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