Key Figures on Climate – France, Europe, Worldwide

28 November 2019 - Climate Brief - By : Aurore COLIN

On the opening of the 25^th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP 25) which is held in Madrid from 2 to 13 December 2019, I4CE-Institute for Climate Economics and the French Ministry of the Ecological and Inclusive Transition are pleased to present the 2020 edition of Key Figures on climate – France, Europe, Worlwide.

This small-format publication summarizes the basics to better understand climate change challenges. Figures and graphs illustrate its causes and impacts, as well as mitigation measures. In particular, detailed statistics are provided on greenhouse gas emissions and on observed trends in the world, in Europe and in France. This publication has been produced for both the general public and the expert who needs a summary close to hand.

Some key figures from the 2020 edition:

Global CO2 emissions increased by + 64% between 1990 and 2017. They account for three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions linked to human activities, which totalled the equivalent of 53.5 GtCO2e in 2017.
These emissions cause the warming of the global annual mean temperature: the latter has increased by +1°C relative to the 1850-1900 reference period.
In 2017, China remained the highest CO2 emitting country in the world (29.3%), ahead of the United States (13.8%), the European Union (9.6%) and India (6.6%).
In 2017, European Union GHG emissions, without Land-use, Land-Use change and Forestry (LULUCF), increased by -0.5% compared to 2016 and over the longer term decreased by +23% from 1990.
The price of allowances of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) has increased since 2018. In the first six months of 2019, it has fluctuated between € 20 and € 30/tCO2e.
In 2017, France GHG emissions, without Land-use, Land-Use change and Forestry (LULUCF), increased by -0.9% compared to 2016 and over the longer term decreased by +15% from 1990.
The carbon footprint⁽¹⁾ of the French population increased by +20% between 1995 and 2018.
In 2017, France invested 41.2 billion euros in favour of the climate.

1 The carbon footprint approach accounts for emissions from final domestic demand in the country. It includes emissions from imported goods in addition to direct emissions from households (housing and cars) and from domestic production (excluding exports). It accounts here the three main greenhouse gases: CO2, CH4, and N2O. It complements and differs from the more widely used territorial approach, which accounts for greenhouse gases physically emitted inside a country.

Key Figures on Climate – France, Europe, Worldwide Download

I4CE Contacts

Aurore COLIN

Research Fellow – Local authorities, Transport infrastructure Email

To learn more

07/02/2024
Social and Climate Budget Tagging: Insights from Indonesia

Attention is growing to the need to tackle climate and social issues jointly. Indeed, both climate change and climate policies affect social issues such as poverty, inequality, or access to healthcare. A well-known example is that of carbon pricing, a climate policy which can have regressive effects in some contexts. As another example, climate change induced heatwaves are disproportionately likely to impact poorer individuals who typically have more constrained access to healthcare, physical jobs in outdoor conditions, and through indirectly driving up food prices. To foster an effective and sustainable transition to low-carbon and resilient economies, policymakers need to ensure individuals do not lose more from climate policies than they already lose from the effects of climate change, but instead benefit from them.
06/13/2024 Blog post Foreword of the week
After Bonn and towards COP 29: the battle on finance and the role of financing plans for the transition

Tense climate negotiations just ended in Bonn with limited progress on finance and the revised climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. During the opening ceremony of the sixtieth sessions of the subsidiary bodies (SB 60) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Simon Stiell –Executive Secretary– highlighted the need to “make serious progress on finance, the great enabler of climate action” and to aim for bolder, broader and inclusive third generation Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) that “can serve as blueprints to propel economies and societies forward and drive more resilience”.
05/17/2024 Foreword of the week
Carbon pricing revenues: their role in financing the climate transition

Last month, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Simon Stiell, stressed how important this and next year are for the achievement of the Paris Agreement and called for “a quantum leap in climate finance” ahead of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund. Indeed, with emissions required to peak before 2025, our window of opportunity is rapidly closing to keep 1.5°C within reach. More and better finance is urgently needed. Carbon pricing policies and their revenues are part of the tools available that can help fill the climate finance gap.

Key Figures on Climate – France, Europe, Worldwide

Aurore COLIN

Social and Climate Budget Tagging: Insights from Indonesia

After Bonn and towards COP 29: the battle on finance and the role of financing plans for the transition

Carbon pricing revenues: their role in financing the climate transition