French industrialists present their energy transition objectives
The 55 factories and other industrial sites that emit the most greenhouse gases in France have submitted to the government their roadmap to reduce their CO45 emissions by 2% before 2030. On Wednesday 22 November, the Ministers for Energy Transition and Industry signed these "contracts".
The ArcelorMittal plant in Fos-sur-Mer (France), February 22, 2023 (illustrative image). AFP - CHRISTOPHE SIMON
By: Justine Fontaine Follow
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These fifty-five industrial sites together account for 12% of greenhouse gas emissions in France and 60% of CO2 emissions in the sector. The list is long: refineries, cement plants, steel or chemical plants, fertilizer or sugar production sites... These factories are particularly energy-intensive. They are therefore an essential lever in the country's energy transition. The government thus forecasts that – along with transport and buildings – industry will have to contribute two-thirds to France's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Read alsoFrance: what to remember from the green industry project presented by the government
In November 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron received the leaders of the fifty or so industrial sites that emit the most CO2 to ask them to prepare their roadmap for reducing their emissions. A year later, Novacarb, for example, which produces soda crystals in eastern France, promised the government to reduce its CO47 emissions by 2% in 2030 compared to 2015. To achieve this goal, it would replace coal – a highly polluting fossil fuel – with biomass (in the form of fuel derived from wood residues or waste), improve the thermal insulation of its buildings and use innovation to produce as much with less energy. The company also plans to focus part of its efforts on CO2 capture and storage.
Massive investments
The level of commitments sometimes varies greatly from one company to another. For its part, Saint-Gobain PAM, which manufactures pipes, would reduce its emissions by up to 80% by 2030. Several factories would replace their gas ovens with electric ovens. Others would use hydrogen from renewable energies (imported or not) to replace some of the fossil fuels they used until now.
To meet these commitments, between €50 billion and €70 billion would be needed, according to companies and the government. Industrialists say they need the government to launch major investments in technologies that are not all proven on an industrial scale and for which it is more difficult to gain the confidence of banks at this stage. The French government has already committed to releasing €5.6 billion as part of its "France 2030" programme (public investments to finance the ecological transition and reindustrialisation of the country). President Emmanuel Macron has raised the possibility of doubling this amount. A promise sketched out, but not confirmed for the moment.
Non-binding targets
The roadmaps drawn up by the most important companies in the sector are used by the government to anticipate the reinforcement of electricity networks and other public infrastructure necessary for industrial activity in 2030 and 2050. However, none of the objectives announced by the manufacturers in their roadmaps are binding. If, for one reason or another, they do not reach them, no sanctions are foreseen, regret the environmental NGOs.
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The amounts of public investment and savings made are astronomical, but the impact on the reduction of CO2 emissions remains limited ", estimated the Climate Action Network in June 2023. "Faced with the amounts already allocated to the decarbonisation of industry and the meagre results observed so far, it now seems essential to demand compensation from companies in exchange for the public aid granted," the association argued.
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