France on the road to green industry leadership
The Green Industry Bill was presented by Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, on Tuesday May 16. The bill aims to make France the leader in green industry in Europe, by responding to several major challenges.
Findings and challenges of the green industry
Firstly, France has undergone significant deindustrialization over the past fifty years, with the destruction of 2.5 million industrial jobs. Industry’s share of national wealth has been halved, from 22% to 11% of gross domestic product (GDP). This deindustrialization has had significant economic and social consequences, requiring a concrete response to revitalize France’s industrial sector.
Secondly, French industry is responsible for 18% of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. In the context of the climate emergency, it is imperative to reduce the overall climate impact of this sector. The transition to a more environmentally-friendly industry is essential if we are to achieve our emission reduction targets and combat climate change.
Thirdly, decarbonizing industry also represents a sovereignty issue. Faced with competing nations committing to investments and strategies dedicated to green industry, it is crucial that France maintains its competitiveness and leadership in this field. China, for example, has presented a five-year plan to stimulate the green development of its industrial sectors, while the United States has passed an Inflation Reduction Act including massive financial support for a green industrial policy.
The aim of the Green Industry Bill is to respond to these findings and challenges by giving a strong impetus to the ecological transition of French industry. France wants to become the leader in green industry in Europe, by promoting decarbonization. The goal is to reconcile economic, environmental and sovereignty imperatives, by creating sustainable jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting technological innovation.
Green industry definition
Faced with these challenges, the Green Industry Bill is intended to be a new stage in the reindustrialization of France. It aims to make France the leader in the green technologies needed for decarbonization and to green existing industries.
Green industry encompasses two major families of complementary activities. On the one hand, it’s about creating new industries that supply goods and services enabling the decarbonization of the economy, such as electric batteries, heat pumps, electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen, biogas, carbon capture and storage technologies, and so on. On the other hand, the aim is to decarbonize existing industry, whatever its sector, size or location, by supporting companies in this transition.
The 9 main measures of the bill
The Green Industry Bill is based on 15 measures organized around four priorities: facilitating, financing, promoting and training.
FACILITATE :
- Offer 50 “France 2030” sites to attract investors and encourage the creation of industrial activities.
- Clean up industrial wastelands to make them suitable for new industrial sites.
- Accelerate reindustrialization in local areas by supporting local initiatives.
FINANCE :
- Support green technologies through the “green industry investment” tax credit.
- Mobilizing private savings to finance green industry.
- Greening the state budget.
PROMOTE :
- Promote recycling of industrial waste.
- Support the decarbonization of existing industries.
- Promote virtuous companies in all government interventions.
TRAIN :
- Training for jobs in the green industry.
- Enhance the attractiveness of industrial professions to attract the vocations and skills needed for the ecological transition.
These measures form a coherent whole aimed at creating a favorable environment for the green industry in France. It will be reached by facilitating its development, mobilizing the necessary financing, and promoting training and innovation. They contribute to achieving the ambitious targets set by the bill in terms of greenhouse gas emission reductions, investments made, and jobs created in the green industry sector by 2030.
The expected impact of the bill
This bill is the result of consultation and co-construction with civil society. For three months, consultations and hearings were held, and the general public was consulted. This consultation phase culminated in the Green Industry Bill presented to the Council of Ministers on May 16.
The Green Industry Bill will have a major environmental and economic impact. It aims to reduce France’s carbon footprint by 41 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030. It also calls for investments of €23 billion by 2030, and the creation of 40,000 direct jobs by the same year.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the green industry bill presented by Bruno Le Maire is based on 15 measures articulated around four priorities and aims to facilitate, finance, promote and train to achieve this objective. By mobilizing public and private players, encouraging technological innovation, and the ecological transition of existing industries, this bill represents a major step in the country’s reindustrialization and in the fight against climate change.
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