France’s Net-Zero Policy: Ambitions and Challenges

Abstract

France’s response to the climate crisis consists of well-structured carbon-neutral policies encompassing various legislative acts and strategic plans that pursue a well-balanced mix of nuclear power and renewables. These carbon-neutral policies have been implemented through various national low-carbon strategies, multi-year energy programs, eco-environmental plans, and climate and energy strategies, all underpinned by a series of legal frameworks such as the Energy and Climate Act, the Climate Recovery Act, the Green Industry Act, and the Fast-Tracking Renewable Energy Protection Act. Having met with success in reducing greenhouse gases, increasing its effort to increase the share of such renewables as solar and wind power in energy consumption, and citizen-led legislation, France is now at work to speed up its energy transition and advance the role of nuclear power as a carbon-free energy source.