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In this week's CSR news, we'll be talking about carbon emissions, which cost France 94 billion euros: an economic and climatic bill that raises a number of questions.While the cost of greenhouse gas emissions weighs heavily on the French economy, INSEE reveals, for the first time, edifying figures on their financial impact. Behind this observation lies an urgent need to rethink our economic and accounting models to fully integrate climate issues. A better understanding of these data opens a window on the challenges - and opportunities - of a sustainable future.
Read all about the week's news in this article.
Carbon emissions cost France 94 billion euros
For the first time, INSEE is publishing national accounts that take into account the weight of GHG emissions in the French economy. A way of highlighting the fact that climate change is making our economic model unsustainable in the long term.
Firstly, it should be noted that while our emissions from domestic activities are down (-31% on 1990), our carbon footprint, including imports, is decreasing only slightly. In its calculations, INSEE considers two types of costs:
Costs associated with climate damage and adaptation
The costs associated with decarbonizing the economy
As a result, the PINA (adjusted net domestic product) would be 4.1% lower than the French net domestic product, i.e. 94 billion euros in 2023.
Rethinking carbon accounting with imported emissions
A report produced by Carbone 4 and the European Climate Foundation (ECF) highlights a blind spot in government carbon accounting: "emissions linked to international trade continue to rise".
In fact, almost 25% of GHG emissions are produced by countries that export goods and resources at the request of other importing countries. And this dimension is generally ignored in calculations, as it affects the competitiveness of national economies.
To fine-tune the situation, the report recommends a calculation based on final consumption (known as the "carbon footprint"). In other words, by adjusting emissions by country "according to their trade exchanges". This would prevent the calculation of a carbon footprint that fails to include an external supply chain in the assessment of its impact.
Climate change will impoverish the global economy
The Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) has published an update of its forecast scenarios, which seek to assess the economic and financial risks of climate disruption. Improved calculation methods and the chronic nature of the risks identified result in an "assessment three times higher" than previous expectations.
This network of the world's central banks, dedicated to greening the financial system, warns that at least "15% of GDP will be lost by 2050 as a result of the climate crisis". This figure is based on the current climate trajectory of the world's economies.
This holistic calculation method takes into account the physical risks associated with climate change, and questions the threat that economies themselves pose to their own production models.
European Week for Waste Reduction!
The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), organized by Ademe, takes place from November 18 to 26. The event is designed to mobilize all forms of organization, from local authorities to businesses. The aim is to mobilize people around waste reduction and the promotion of more responsible practices.
This year's theme is sustainable food, which brings together social, economic and environmental issues. Food accounts for a quarter of France's greenhouse gas emissions.
With over 2.5 million participants in 2023, this year's EWWR warns that nearly 4 million tonnes of food waste are wasted every year. The platform underlines the absurdity of such a situation, considering the food insecurity affecting certain populations.
Shell finally wins its appeal
The Court of Appeal in The Hague has finally overturned the Dutch court's decision to force the oil giant to reduce its GHG emissions by 45% by 2030. Specifically, the Court recognizes that Shell must reduce its emissions, but cannot impose a precise figure for doing so.
The representative of the plaintiff NGOs and associations spoke out, describing the decision as "a setback for the climate movement".
However, this landmark decision paves the way for litigation against companies that fail to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement. A legal argument that it will now be possible to use against companies in court. In other words, this decision explicitly recognizes "the responsibility of oil and gas companies for climate change", asserts Jérémie Suissa, General Delegate of the association Notre affaire à tous.
How many climate skeptics are there in France?
The Parlons climat organization has published a major survey dedicated to the issue of climate skepticism. First and foremost, they remind us that there is a difference between individuals who don't believe in the idea of climate change at all (the "denialists"), and those who question its human origin and severity (the "climatoskeptics").
According to the latest Ademe figures for October 2024, 38% of French people are climate sceptics. Among them, "30% think that climate change is a natural phenomenon".
The study shows that climate skeptics are generally over 65 (one-third of those surveyed), and that the most radical positions are predominantly held by men. What's more, "highly educated" individuals are less represented among the population most skeptical of the human origin of climate change.
A sustainable food transition to boost GDP?
Deloitte has published a report on sustainable food in conjunction with COP29. In it, it develops the economic and social benefits of a sustainable food transition, which would both combat malnutrition and bolster the global economy. Today, nearly 10% of the world's population - 730 million people - are undernourished.
The study raises the following challenge: a sustainable food transition means that, by 2070, the world will have to feed almost 10 billion people by producing 40% more calories, while limiting the environmental impact of their production.
Finally, they note that this could reduce the number of malnourished people by 300 million. The study points out, however, that this requires rapid, coordinated action.
COP29: no more new coal-fired power plants
25 countries pledged to stop opening coal-fired power plants on November 20 in Baku, at the 29th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change. France, Canada, Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom signed up to this commitment. However, the United States, China and India have not.
While the opening of new coal-fired power stations is at the heart of this commitment, it is notable that extraction and export are not. In this way, the signatories retain a certain degree of flexibility in their energy policies.
In addition to not approving the opening of new coal-fired power plants, the signatory states have also pledged to include this objective in their next climate plans. This should bring about changes in energy policies concerning this resource, which is even more emissive than oil and gas.
European Parliament postpones anti-deforestation law
The European Parliament has postponed by 12 months the entry into force of the RDUE, the European regulation against deforestation and forest degradation. This postponement is accompanied by a relaxation of certain constraints included in the regulation.
The regulation aims to ban the marketing or export from the European market of products that have contributed to deforestation or forest degradation. According to economist Alain Karsenty, a specialist in deforestation issues, this postponement is part of a more general trend to question "European regulations on a crucial subject".
NGOs estimate that a 12-month postponement of the RDUE would correspond to the deforestation of at least 150,385 hectares linked to the EU's economic and commercial activity.
Responsible advertising: the advertising industry's double game
The world of advertising seems to be torn between the need for marketing efficiency, which can hardly do without environmental issues, and strict regulation to combat greenwashing.
Major players such as L'Oréal, through its French president, are as annoyed by regulatory constraints as they are by the opprobrium cast upon them by certain players in favor of regulation: "We're all a little fed up with denunciation".
Indeed, the economic viability of a large number of highly polluting sectors largely depends on their advertising coverage. In France in 2023, brands will have spent nearly €34 billion on communications, half of it on advertising space. A figure that also invites us to rethink what advertising should or should not promote as an ideal way of life and as consumer products.
The sources
Youmatter "€94 billion is the cost of carbon emissions to the French economy".
Le Monde "Imported greenhouse gas emissions, the blind spot of rich countries' climate impact".
RSE Magazine "SERD 2024: a mobilization to reduce waste".
Carenews "Hague Court of Appeal overturns ruling requiring Shell to cut emissions by 45% by 2030"
Green "Who are the climate skeptics in France and how many are they really?"
ESG news "Sustainable food systems could save 300 million people from undernourishment"
RSE Magazine "COP29: the major powers say no to new coal-fired power plants".
Youmatter "Deforestation: The European Parliament confirms the postponement of the EUDR".
Le Monde "The advertising world torn between consumerism and climate issues".
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