Insee Analyses · October 2026 · n° 126

Between 2010 and 2025, Domestic Final Demand Rose but the Carbon Footprint Fell, Mainly Due to the Decarbonisation of Products

Between 2010 and 2025, France’s carbon footprint decreased by 23% (excluding direct emissions from households), while domestic final demand increased by 18% in volume. The unit carbon content of final demand, expressed in kilograms of CO₂ equivalent per constant euro, thus fell by 35% over the period, reflecting a decoupling trend.

When breaking down final demand into 64 different goods and services, the decline in carbon intensity per product accounted for 85% of the total decoupling, while composition effects across products accounted for only 15%.

Decoupling did not, for the most part, result from a measurement effect linked to the division between price and volume: for a large share of the products studied (7 out of 11 major products), changes in demand in volume terms were consistent with changes in physical quantities. Certain products are exceptions, such as computer equipment and automobiles, for which quality effects are significant. For these products, the decoupling estimated from physical data was therefore much weaker than that estimated from national accounts.

On average, French products have a lower carbon footprint than imported products, but their rate of decarbonisation over the preceding 15 years was similar. For French products, the decline in unit carbon content was driven by emissions reductions throughout the value chains, both in France and abroad.