France’s national climate plans (2020 and updated in 2024)

Food System Overview

France’s national climate contributions are incorporated within the European Union’s NDC. As part of these commitments, France developed an integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and a Long-Term Strategy (LTS) – which, in 2020, were both submitted to the European Commission. The NECP was updated in June 2024. Additionally, France developed and published an addendum to the European Union NDC, where the country presents emission reduction targets for several of its overseas countries and territories that are not covered by the more broad NDC.

NECP DEVELOPMENT

The development process of the NECP was led by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and included participation from diverse stakeholders from within and outside government. The consultation process included multiple platforms for public engagement, including sectoral working groups, workshops, public debates, and online questionnaires. Additionally, the NECP includes an impact analysis that took account of several food system elements, such as improving food production practices, promoting alternative production methods, shifting diets, and promoting bio-based energy.

Food System Measures

France’s NECP directly references efforts that work towards a healthy, sustainable, and accessible food system, including a transition toward more sustainable food production facilitated primarily through the Agri-Environmental Plan. Further, France’s Biodiversity Plan – which is referred to in the country’s NECP – seeks to promote and reinforce plans promoting agroecology and organic farming and includes measures to improve knowledge and management of soil biodiversity for agriculture. Additionally, the NECP addresses critical issues such as food loss and waste reduction, the conversion of food waste into biofuel, and the taxation of refrigerant greenhouse gases. Further, the NECP establishes targets for livestock production to limit emissions while recognizing the need to address imported emissions.

The 2024 update includes the extension of the obligation to supply at least 50% of sustainable and quality products, including at least 20% organic products, to all public restaurants from 2024. School canteens must offer a vegetarian menu at least once a week, and collective restaurants serving more than 200 covered per day must implement a multi-annual plan for the diversification of protein sources. Since 1 January 2023, state mass catering services must offer a daily vegetarian menu when multiple menu choices are available. The NECP establishes the objective of halving food waste compared to 2015, in 2025 for distribution and mass catering and in 2030 for other sectors. Through successive application of the Garot, EGAlim and AGEC laws, the prohibition on rendering consumable foodstuffs unfit for consumption applies to agri-food industries, distributors, wholesalers and mass catering industries. A national 'food waste' label was introduced in 2020, with implementation in 2022. The update includes implementation of environmental labeling on food products to provide consumers with transparent information on environmental impact. In the agriculture sector, several strategies contribute to the climate and agro-ecological transition, including the National Strategic Plan 2023-2027, the National Strategy on Plant Proteins, the Bio Ambition Programme and the plan to teach how to produce otherwise.

NECP Implementation

Transitioning to a sustainable food system is funded through the government's Major Investment Plan, allocating EUR 5 billion to ecological transformation in agriculture, fisheries, agri-food, and forestry. The NECP includes measures for farmer training under the Teaching to Produce Alternatives Plan, but otherwise does not directly address smallholder farmers, women, or marginalized groups in the food system. It remains unclear whether farmers will be actively engaged in the design and implementation of these training programs. Despite this, various initiatives in France support farmers in enhancing the sustainability of their production.

• https://energy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2019-06/necp_factsheet_fr_final_0.pdf
• https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/en_SNBC-2_complete.pdf

Sources

Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, Official Journal of the European Union L328 (2018). Retrieved from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R1999&from=EN.

Ministère de la Transition Écologique et Solidaire Soumission de la France ; Objet : mise à jour de la contribution déterminée au niveau national de la France (2021). Retrieved from: https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/France%20First/FR%20CDN%20 addendum%20r%C3%A9vis%C3%A9%20-%202021.pdf.

Global Alliance for the Future of Food. Untapped opportunities for climate action: an assessment of food systems in Nationally Determined Contributions. n.p.: Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2022.

European Commission, “National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs)” (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-strategy/ national-energy-climate-plans_en.

Ministère de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation, “Le projet agro-écologique en 12 clés” (2016). Retrieved from: https://agriculture.gouv.fr/le-projet- agro-ecologique-en-12-cles.