Hadrien HAINAUT

Industry: relocation and decarbonisation at the heart of the debate. The recent succession of crises (health, energy, geopolitical) and increased international competition have prompted France to look for ways to strengthen its industrial and energy sovereignty. It faces this challenge in addition to the challenge of decarbonising its industry. In this context, France and Europe are developing industrial policies with two objectives – relocation and decarbonisation – and with new tools such as the France 2030 plan and the Net Zero Industry Act at the European level. These policies target both ‘historical’ industries, such as steel and cement, and new clean technologies, from solar to batteries.

2022, France is paying dearly for a dependence on fossil fuels maintained by a chronic lack of investment in the decarbonisation of the economy. This edition of the Landscape of climate finance in France makes a detailed analysis of these critical expenditures by households, companies and public authorities, in the retrofitting of buildings, the purchase of electric vehicles, and renewable energies, as well as in rail, cycling and urban public transport infrastructures. Encouragingly, climate investments have increased significantly in the past year, driven, among other factors, by favourable regulations and by state support under the recovery plan. But this growth remains fragile, and analysis of several transition scenarios shows that climate investments need to increase further in order to stay on track to carbon neutrality and to ensure a lasting reduction in France’s dependence on fossil fuels.

The industrial sector currently accounts for around 20% of French greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

A steep rise in investment in low-carbon vehicles and sustained climate investment in other sectors, a fall in the financing of fossil fuels, a climate funding deficit of over 13 billion that recovery measures are unlikely to offset...

To learn more about the methodology used by I4CE to assess the contribution of financing flows to the emergence of a sustainable food system, this technical paper introduces it and identifies its limitations and key methodological challenges for the future.

The Landscape of Climate Finance is a comprehensive study of domestic investments which support climate mitigation in France. This study maps the financial flows supporting investments leading to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across the French economy.

As part of the EUKI-supported project “Landscape of climate finance: Mainstreaming climate finance in the CEE region”, I4CE supported the Polish think-tank Wise Europa in the elaboration of a Landscape of climate finance in the sector of energy retrofitting of existing buildings in Poland.

Confronted with a health crisis that has caused a global social and economic shock, the European Union and countries around the world are adopting major economic support programs. Following the initial focus that must be on overcoming the health emergency itself, actions that contribute to climate goals can be an effective part of improving both the economy and the resilience of our society. I4CE’s proposal calls for a public finance package of 7 billion euros per year that is estimated to trigger 19 billion euros of additional public and private investment. Altogether, this package would contribute to the economic recovery post-crisis, while simultaneously reinforcing our society against future shocks without reducing France’s contribution to international climate goals.

Since 2012, I4CE has been tracking climate investment and finance in France and similar assessments have been conducted in Germany by IKEM. This study compares the methodologies and results of these two exercises – the most advanced in Europe. The paper allows an initial comparison of investments in the two countries, identifying similarities in priority […]

The 2019 Edition of I4CE’s Landscape of Climate Finance provides an overview of the investments made by governments, households and businesses in support of the French government’s climate-related objectives. The 2019 edition of the Landscape reveals that climate investments exceeded 45 billion euros in 2018 in France. These investments were made by households, public authorities […]

Why is it both important and useful to track climate investment and finance flows at the domestic level? In this policy brief, WiseEuropa, New Climate Institute and I4CE present an overview of how systematically tracking these flows can help governments and other stakeholders with quantitative data to assess progress towards national climate objectives as well […]

The 2018 edition of I4CE’s Landscape of Climate Finance provides an overview of climate investments made by governments, households and businesses in France.   In 2017 climate investments exceed €40 billion, equitably distributed between households, businesses and public authorities. Nevertheless, investment needs are estimated at between €50 billion and €70 billion per year; investment needs […]

The transition to a low-carbon economy implies significant investments in buildings, transport systems, vehicles, power plants, industry, agriculture. However scaling-up those investments to meet climate and energy objectives requires an improved knowledge base in investments and financial flows in those sectors, as well as policy assessment tools.   This is why I4CE has developed since 2013 a “Landscape of domestic climate […]

Since 2014, I4CE has tracked annually the investments made in France supporting climate action, whether by households, businesses or public authorities. The Landscape of Climate Finance is a powerful tool to fuel public debate, help decision makers assess the performance of their actions, and identify the efforts that remain to be undertaken.

The conference brought together more than 180 participants from government, industry, research and civil society. They discussed potentials and different approaches to financing the energy transition in France and Germany.

The government’s ambitious objectives for the “energy performance” of buildings, in particular private housing units, call for major investments, approximately €15 billion/year. Current incentives have proven capable of raising only half of this amount, and most of these funds go to dispersed interventions with little heed for energy efficiency.

To better understand the financing of the fight against climate change and the energy transition, the study identified investments that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in France. These expenditures are analyzed to identify which actors have undertaken these projects and how they are financed.   Climate investments mainly distributed in three areas […]

Adopted in 2015 at COP21, the Paris Agreement defines ambitious objectives to orient countries towards developing low-carbon and climate-resilient economies, shifting to a carbon-neutral global economy before the end of the century. It establishes a multilateral cooperation framework governed on the basis of both national and voluntary contributions of States and the initiatives of non-State actors. Yet, […]

The Landscape of climate finance is a comprehensive study of domestic financial flows in favor of climate and the broader energy transition in France. The study maps the flows supporting investments leading to greenhouse gas mitigation across the French economy. The principal objective of the study is to support public debate on the role and relevancy of […]

On 25th October 2016 in Copenhagen, the European Environment Agency and I4CE – Institute for Climate Economics hosted an expert meeting convening experts on the tracking of domestic financial flows dedicated to climate action in Europe. The expert meeting brought together government representatives, research centers and civil society actors, with the aim of establishing how […]

The Paris Agreement provides a clear signal and a solid framework for climate action. Balanced and ambitious in its objectives – including full decarbonization of the global economy before the end of the century – it has all the conditions to encourage everyone to do more. In establishing a new international climate change regime, the […]

Energy efficiency and sustainable infrastructure are the main investment domains, followed by renewable energy and nuclear. Between 2011 and 2013, climate investment increased by €6bn, with high contrast between domains. Investment in new buildings’ energy efficiency and in sustainable infrastructure increased, whereas investment in renewable energy, particularly renewable power, decreased.   Up to €36bn invested […]

Heading towards the 2015 Paris international Climate Conference (COP21), I4CE, in partnership with ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, publishes a ClimasCOPe # 4 aiming to shed some light on the challenges of international climate negotiations. ClimasCOPe # 4 is focused on the challenge of the mobilization of non-state actors in the climate […]

Heading towards the 2015 Paris international Climate Conference (COP21), I4CE, in partnership with ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, publishes a ClimasCOPe # 3 aiming to shed some light on the challenges of international climate negotiations. ClimasCOPe # 3 is focused on the challenge of Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of GHG  emissions. After […]

Heading towards the 2015 Paris international Climate Conference (COP21), CDC Climat Research, in partnership with ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, publishes a ClimasCOPe # 2 aiming to shed some light on the challenges of international climate negotiations. ClimasCOPe # 2 is focused on the financing of the low-carbon transition. After an editorial […]