France’s New Low-Carbon Strategy Sets a Binding Path to Exit Fossil Fuels
• On December 12, 2025, the French government published its National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC), aiming to phase out fossil fuels by 2050 after more than a year of consultations, legally committing France to a trajectory of deep greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
• Presented as a “business plan” by the Ministry for Ecological Transition, the strategy relies on major electrification efforts across transport, industry and housing, as well as a profound transformation of energy consumption and industrial models.
• Still subject to validation by several institutions before formal adoption by decree, the SNBC targets a large-scale regulatory, economic and environmental transformation.
Source: Reporterre – “Phasing out fossil fuels: the government finally publishes its strategy”
CDP Results Available Since December 10
• CDP, recognised by investors and clients for assessing corporate climate governance, structures its scores across four levels, from basic disclosure to leadership excellence.
• Superficial reporting, gaps in emissions data and weakly integrated governance have slowed score improvements, limiting associated operational and financial benefits.
• Companies adopting an integrated transformation approach, combining continuous improvement with targeted actions, have aligned more effectively with regulatory expectations while strengthening resilience and attractiveness.
Source: ESG Today – “The Smartest Path to CDP Success: Reframe Your Score as a Catalyst for Action and Advantage”
Contagious Nodular Dermatosis Sparks Major Agricultural Protests
• The French agricultural sector has been shaken by the contested management of contagious nodular dermatosis, which led to the euthanasia of entire herds in affected areas, triggering strong mobilisations and clashes with law enforcement.
• Trade unions, bringing together diverse movements, have demanded a suspension of mass culling and a revision of health policy, while also opposing the imminent finalisation of the Mercosur agreement.
• This convergence of struggles aims to transform both sanitary and trade management at a time when the EU is debating safeguard measures and collective pressure is intensifying.
Source: Vert le Média – “Nodular dermatosis, Mercosur… a decisive week for agriculture, government under pressure”
SBTi Launches a Net-Zero Standard for the Power Sector
• The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) launched the pilot phase of its Power Sector Net-Zero Standard, introducing strengthened requirements for electricity companies, including public disclosure of fossil-fuel exit transition plans and a halt to investments in new unabated fossil capacity.
• The new standard is designed to replace existing guidance, cover the entire value chain, enable independent verification and align with the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.
• This initiative aims to extend best practices across the power sector to align trajectories with the global goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
Source: ESG Today – “SBTi Pilots New Draft Power Sector Net Zero Standard”
The European Union Backs Away from an All-Electric Car Target by 2035
• On December 16, 2025, the European Union abandoned its plan to impose a full shift to electric-only vehicles for automakers by 2035, citing the crisis affecting the automotive sector in Europe.
• The decision allows manufacturers to sell a limited number of new combustion or hybrid vehicles after 2035, provided that the associated CO₂ emissions are offset.
• While the EU maintains its stated objective of reducing transport’s carbon footprint, this measure introduces regulatory flexibility reflecting industrial realities and consumer expectations.
Source: Le Monde – “Automotive sector: the EU backs away from all-electric by 2035 and authorises a limited share of combustion vehicles”
The EU Strengthens Its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
• The European Commission proposed expanding the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to 180 downstream products rich in steel or aluminium, such as industrial equipment and household appliances, to curb carbon leakage outside the EU.
• This extension, combined with traceability measures and a temporary fund to support European producers engaged in decarbonisation, addresses circumvention risks identified during the transitional phase.
• The reform aims to reinforce competitiveness, industrial security and European climate objectives within a strengthened regulatory framework.
Source: ESG Today – “EU to Expand CBAM Carbon Import Tax to Downstream Products to Avoid Production Shift to Countries with Weaker Climate Policies”
Ten Years After the Paris Agreement, the Climate at a Tipping Point
• Ten years after the Paris Agreement, progress includes stagnating global CO₂ emissions, rapid growth of renewables accounting for 41% of global electricity in 2025, and a notable decline in deforestation, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon.
• However, current policies remain insufficient to meet the +1.5°C target, as fossil fuel emissions and deforestation persist, with the Amazon now emitting more CO₂ than it absorbs.
• The scale of additional efforts required to limit warming and preserve environmental balance highlights a systemic challenge for both businesses and society.
Source: Vert le Média – “Warming, CO₂, renewables, transport, deforestation: five key charts ten years after the Paris climate agreement”
2030 Winter Olympics in the Alps: A Major Climate Challenge
• France plans to host the 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in the Alps, a region already heavily impacted by climate change, glacier melt and water scarcity.
• The project involves costly infrastructure construction and renovation, largely useless in the long term, and heavy reliance on artificial snowmaking, conflicting with the Paris Agreement, the Climate Law and national recommendations.
• The event risks locking the Alpine region into an outdated model, increasing environmental and social pressure without driving the expected ecological transition.
Source: Le Monde – “The 2030 Winter Olympics freeze mountain regions into an exhausted model inherited from Grenoble 1968 and Albertville 1992”
End of the Paris–Berlin Night Train Highlights Funding Tensions
• On December 12, 2025, SNCF, ÖBB and Deutsche Bahn suspended the Paris–Berlin–Vienna night train following the withdrawal of a €5.5 million French subsidy, despite a 70% occupancy rate in 2024 and 90,000 passengers in 2025.
• The decision reignited controversy between economic constraints and environmental objectives, as a citizen petition and elected officials sought to restore funding.
• The end of this route, one of France’s few international night train lines, illustrates the limits of current models in meeting Europe’s sustainable mobility ambitions.
Source: Reporterre – “Journey on the last Paris–Berlin night train, buried by the State”
