Insee Première · October 2025 · n° 2077

France’s greenhouse gases emissions and carbon footprint in 2024 A less pronounced decrease than in 2023

In 2024, greenhouse gases emissions from French resident units – which included certain emissions abroad, in particular from maritime and air transport – totalled 404 million tons of CO₂ equivalent (Mt CO₂ eq), or 5.9 tons per person. Meanwhile, France’s carbon footprint reached 563 Mt CO₂ eq, or 8.2 tons per person. This gap was due to the emissions imported to satisfy French final demand, which were significantly higher than emissions exported by France. French emissions went slightly down in 2024, by 0.9% (after -6.0% in 2023). Electricity generation became less carbon intensive, while emissions from international maritime transport rose markedly. Overall, French emissions linked to domestic final demand fell (-2.9%), whereas emissions associated with exports went slightly up (+1.7%). The carbon footprint, for its part, declined by 3.4% (after -6.1% in 2023), with two thirds of the reduction attributable to lower imported emissions (-4.6%). Since 1990, French emissions had been decreasing at a faster rate than the carbon footprint, with half of the latter’s total resulting from imported emissions in 2023.