Resource efficiency and low-carbon economy - French vision, framework and experimentation

Editor's Notes

• #3: Climate change mitigation has a high level of priority in France (Diapositive 2) The French Law on energy transition for green growth, passed in July 2015, sets ambitious targets to achieve the energy transition to a low-carbon economy : •a 40 % reduction in GHG emissions in 2030 compared to 1990 •a 30 % decrease in fossil fuel consumption in 2030 compared to 2012 •a 50 % reduction in final energy consumption in 2050 compared to 2012 •an increase of renewable energy production. France plans to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 32 % of the final energy consumption in 2030 and 40 % of the electricity production at the expense, particularly of nuclear power. The share of nuclear power is due expected to decline to 50 % by 2025. The law also sets a carbon tax outside the scope of EU-ETS. The carbon based part of the domestic tax on consumption of energy products will reach 56 € in 2020 and 100 € in 2030 for a ton of carbon. This will allow to focus investments on long term horizons and to channel behaviours into low carbon economy.
• #4: In France, material efficiency is seen as a pillar to reduce GHG emissions (diapositive 3) - An OECD report, published in 2012, shows that there are significant opportunities to reduce emissions through material management policies. On the basis of an analysis in 4 OECD countries, the report shows that GHG emissions arising from material management account for 55 to 65 percent of national emissions when they considered from a life cycle perspective. By integrating a whole title on circular economy, the law on energy transition for green growth seeks to foster synergies between material management policies (and particulary waste policies) and low carbon transition.
• #6: Waste prevention and recovery present, indeed, many opportunities to reduce territorial GHG emissions and GHG footprint. (diapositive 4) France recycles significant amount of waste. A study, carried by ADEME (the French Environment Agengy) in 2010, found that the recyling of ferrous and non ferrous metals, glass and plastics. avoided near 20 million tons GHG emisssions The law on energy transition for green growth sets targets to increase recycling. For example, the recycling of non mineral, non dangerous waste is expected to increase to 65 % in 2025 (against 50 % in 2012). For information, in 2012, France produced 93 million tons of non dangerous, non mineral waste. To reach these targets, many actions are planned. They are described in the waste mangement plan for the reduction and recovery of waste. For example, by 2016, all professional waste producers have to sort their waste. Extraction and processing of virgin materials, particulary of metals, are energy intensive and harmful for the environment. France imports nearly 100 % of its primary metals needs. Replacing raw materials by secondary materials prevent the first material life cycle  steps. Recyling help reduce the carbon footprint which is an objective of the French low-carbon strategy.
• #7: This should also be the case for prevention. (Diapositive 5) France has set the objective to reduce the generation of municipal waste and to decouple generation of professional waste from the added value. For example, food represents 19 % of the French carbon footprint (2012). In the same time, 7 millions tons of food waste are generated. The picture on the right side shows the distribution of food waste generation along the value chain ; You can see that households are, by far, the biggest producers of food waste (68 %). 15 % of food waste are generated by catering, 11 % by food sector retailers (2012, ADEME). Food waste is a priority waste stream of national prevention program. Decouple food waste generation from the added value can contribute to reduce substantially GHG emissions.. In June 2013, the National Commitment against food waste set an ambitious waste food reduction target bu 2025 and an action plan. Today, food sector retailers must contact charity organisations to set up constracts to provide them with unsold food. Conventions are built up gradually. It is also worth noting that these conventions have led to a a better stocks follow-up for fresh products and a reduction in losses for foods retailers. This measure shows that waste prevention can lead not only to environmental benefits, but also so social and economic benefits.
• #8: Beyond waste prevention and recycling, France has the objective to decouple material consumption and economic growth. (diapositive 6) Indeed, energy transition requires more materials such as biomass, metals and other minerals. Many low carbon technologies, whether at the supply side or on the demand side, require increased material use. Without significant improvements in ressource efficiency, it will be difficult and substantially more costly to keep average global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius as set in the Paris Agreement. This is what we can read in the summary for policy makers published by the UNEP’s International Resource panel and delivered to the G7 in May 2016) France’s goal is to increase material productivy by 30 % between 2010 and 2030. In the same time, France seeks to reduce the material consumption per inhabitant. This is a provision of the law on energy transition for green growth. The aim of this target is to avoid trade-offs between material management and climate policies, and to fully use synergy opportunities
• #9: Between 1990 and 2013, French material productivity has grown by 50 % to reach 2,63 € per kg in 2013. (diapositive 7) These figures could suggest that 30 % material productivity increasing is an unambiitious targets. This is not the case. We must place it in the French context today. France has already a high material productivity level and a low level of material consumption per inhabitant Energy transition will require more materials, metals and other minerals At the same time, France is engaged in a reindustrialisation policy
• #10: Reaching this target requires France to engage new actions. Two on-going projects fit in this context : - The development of a strategic roadmap for a ressource efficient industry conducted by the Ministry for Industry. Material efficiency is a requirement for the Industry. - The development of a ressource use plan by the Ministry for Environment. Its aim is to better align French needs for natural ressources with their avalaibility (at national and at international level) in compliance with the French low carbon trajectory.
• #11: In a nusthell (diapositive 8) The French experience on ressource efficiency and low-carbon economy shows that : we need mateiial targets and not only energy and GHG emissions targets our global (and national) economic and welfare development will continue to rely on virgin materials even though we are accelerating the shift to a circular economy ; some of the virgin material needs will grow with the development of low carbon technologies (on the demand and on the supply side) ; Thus, there is a strong requirement to develop and disseminate mining and processing technologies that are less ressource and environment intensive ; Social aspects are important in material efficiency programmes. French experiences on waste food and on extended producer responsability schemes show that this can be successful.