French Environment Minister Christophe Béchu sais he is not claiming victory. But, on the set of TF1's evening news on Wednesday, March 20, he found it hard to hide his satisfaction, announcing a "historically good" year in the fight against climate change in France.

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 4.8% in 2023 compared with 2022, according to provisional figures published on Thursday by the Interprofessional Center for Studying Atmospheric Pollution (CITEPA), the organization commissioned to carry out this inventory. This is the sharpest decrease since 2015 and almost double that of 2022, when there was a drop of 2.7%.

Activities on French territory emitted a total of 385 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (Mt CO₂e) in 2023 – excluding imports and carbon sinks. This is less than in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic and a series of lockdowns led to a drop in emissions to 392 Mt CO₂e. Carbon emissions have been reduced by 29% since 1990.

For the first time, the decline is common to all sectors. It is most marked in power generation (-14%), due to strong nuclear production, but also, "to a lesser extent," hydro, wind and solar power, reported CITEPA. Above all, this marks the end of an unprecedented situation, which in 2022 saw the shutdown of a large number of nuclear reactors due to maintenance and corrosion problems, leading to greater reliance on gas- and coal-fired power plants.

Emissions also fell by 8% in industry, driven by a decline in industrial production, particularly in cement, chemicals and steel. "In addition, natural gas consumption fell by 19% in large-scale industry, and the industrial sector is continuing its decarbonization efforts," adds CITEPA.

Energy use in buildings has also helped the figures to drop (-6%). Among the reasons for this good performance, the organization cites energy-saving behavior on the part of households and businesses, continued energy renovations helped by financial incentives, warmer temperatures in January and December 2023 than in 2022, meaning less heating use, and rising energy prices.

The most significant change lies in the transport sector, which is the most polluting, accounting for 32% of national emissions. The sector's emissions have been stagnating or rising steadily for a decade. In 2023, they fell by 3%, reaching their lowest level since 2009, outside Covid-19. This was caused by the combination of several elements: occasional increases in petrol prices, a drop in sales of diesel vehicles offset by an increase in those with electric or hybrid engines, and "changes in behavior (frugality, modal shift, carpooling in particular)," details CITEPA. The only black spot was the soaring emissions from the air transport sector, up 21% for domestic flights and 27% for international flights.

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