Centre International de Recherche
sur l’Environnement et le Développement

During the last three years, French policymakers have showed an increasing environmental ambition in their political discourse, especially on the climate issue, with a division by 4 of the GHG emissions in 2050 becoming an official national long run target in 2005. This move is not singular in the current context of EU, where all members have been urged to adopt national strategies against climate change, especially with the launching of the European Trading System in 2006. While all European policymakers have common guidelines for short term action through their involvement in the Kyoto Protocol and through common EU directives, each country has to face with specific national circumstances, including political cycles, and shows a particular pathway in the elaboration of its national strategy. This paper will elaborate on the French specificities, first on the current GHG emissions dynamics, mitigation strategies and political process, secondly on the long-run objectives and the means to reach them.