🇫🇷 This week’s EU carbon management spotlight: France 🇫🇷

As the second largest economy in Europe, #France has a key role to play in helping the #EU achieve #netzero. While a concrete carbon removal (#CDR) policy does not exist yet, France boasts a vibrant and diverse CDR industry.

What is France’s decarbonization strategy?

🎯 France’s national Long Term Strategy (#LTS), or Stratégie Nationale Bas-Carbone, sets a net zero objective by 2050. The LTS specifically states that achieving #carbonneutrality requires compensating emissions with carbon sinks (85% emission reductions, 15% by sinks).

🔍 The #LTS also mentions bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (#BECCS) as essential for removing 10Mt of CO2 by 2050, though no concrete measures are yet in place.

🌲 The land use, land use change and forestry (#LULUCF) sector seems to be prioritised (mostly forests and agriculture-related sinks), especially methods related to carbon farming.

What does R&D and support for CDR projects look like in France?

💶 The country's #France2030 plan will make €3 billion in funding available for #deeptech innovations to decarbonise the industry sector, which is relevant to CDR.

🌳 Label Bas-Carbone will incentivise ecosystem-based CDR regarding natural sinks. Biochar carbon removal (#BCR) and enhanced weathering (#ERW) may also benefit from these incentives, though the legal structure for this proposal is still in development.

🌊 Under Label Bas-Carbone’s carbon crediting programme, France’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition became the first in Europe to approve an accounting methodology for a project to protect seagrass in the Calanques National Park.

🔒There is currently an ongoing EU-led research program exploring geological storage potential of CO2 in France (the #PilotSTRATEGY project coordinated by BRGM )

Evidently, France is approaching CDR with caution, though it recognizes that removals are a necessary companion to reductions. For now, France’s efforts are focused on natural carbon sinks, especially #carbonfarming. However, other CDR methods like BECCS are becoming more and more attractive to French policymakers. It is perhaps only a matter of time before the country integrates concrete CDR commitments into its LTS.

Finally, a shout-out to all these amazing companies pushing the envelope on CDR in France: Sweep, Carbonable, Removall Carbon, Morpho Labs, PUR, EcoAct France, The SHARED WOOD COMPANY, Carbon Gap, CO2 AI, Carbonapp France, NetZero, Terra fertilis®, PRONOE, Marble, Zenon, Carbonx Climate.

And also the individuals pioneering CDR in France: Benjamin, Axel, Clément, Sylvain, Roy, Lydia, Julie, Jérôme, Sebastien, Paolo, and Thomas.

Who is missing from this list? And what do you think about France’s carbon management plans? What role do you anticipate CDR to play in the country in the future?