Tackling climate change is a priority for the French government. France is among the 55 countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. As a signatory to the protocol, France is required to (i) implement specific policies to reduce CO2 gas emissions and (ii) promote renewable energy. In this context, European countries have been required to reduce their CO2 gas emissions from 2008-2012 by 8% in comparison to their 1990 levels.

Over the past few years, France has already significantly reduced its CO2 gas emissions. This is partly due to the low use of coal and gas to generate energy, the high proportion of electricity generated through nuclear activities or hydraulic installations, and France’s good performance in terms of energy efficiency. The EU is also on track to reduce its emissions by 20% in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol.

Also, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, France created a national inventory system — the SNIEBA (National System for Air Emissions Inventories and GHD Balance) — in 2011. Although the RT 2012 did not set any maximum gas emission target, France’s target is a fourfold reduction in GHG emissions by 2050 following the “Grenelle de l’Environnement” conferences.

At present, France is one of the industrial countries emitting less GHGs.

Every local planning/zoning regime (Plan Local d’Urbanisme) enacted at city level must (i) promote energy performance by producing renewable sources of energy and (ii) reduce CO2 gas emissions. It is forbidden to ban sustainable constructions or installations. For instance, Paris is in the process of enacting a specific “bioclimatic” local planning regime, “Plan Local d’Urbanisme bioclimatique,” to create a more energy-efficient city by promoting, notably, renovation and low-carbon construction.

In 2015, France organized the 2015 Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At the end of this conference on 12 December 2015, more than 180 countries reached an international agreement to (i) limit the global average temperature increase to 2°C, (ii) state that the necessary financing to meet this target would have to be implemented by the parties to this agreement, (iii) set up a new meeting in 2018 to confirm success in achieving the target and (iv) provide that a first global inventory should take place in 2023, and then every five years after that, to assess nationally determined contributions to limit climate change.

In 2023, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP 28), France launched the “Buildings Breakthrough,” aiming for zero emissions from the building sector by 2030.

In addition, and as mentioned in "Incentives for Green Retrofit", the “Loi Elan” sets out that final energy consumption should be reduced by 40% in 2030, 50% in 2040 and 60% in 2050 (compared with 2010).