Issues for debate
Looking ahead does not mean we cannot take a step back. In all the scenarios to achieve carbon neutrality, we review six issues that will need to be the subject of structuring debates.
In this page:
- How far should sufficiency be taken?
- Can we rely solely on natural carbon sinks to achieve neutrality?
- What is a sustainable diet?
- Soil artificialization, energy poverty, renovation: is there another economic model for construction?
- Towards a new industrial model: is sufficiency harmful for French industry?
- Water: a major challenge for societies in the years ahead
How far should sufficiency be taken?
It is easier to decarbonise energy if the demand is lower. Reducing this demand is determined by two factors:
- the sufficiency approach, i.e. questioning lifestyles and consumption patterns. However, sufficiency goes against the predominant way of thinking in the consumerist culture of the modern world.
- energy efficiency, which reduces the amount of energy required to provide products and services. The potential for energy efficiency comes up against physical limits and, above all, the limits of available technologies.
The issue of sufficiency therefore needs to be examined.
Can we rely solely on natural carbon sinks to achieve neutrality?
The four scenarios show that carbon neutrality cannot be achieved without natural CO2 sinks (plants, soil and products) because their potential is so much greater than that of technological sinks (CO2 capture and storage). But natural sinks are fragile and vulnerable to climate change.
Sufficiency, biomass management and natural sinks are therefore closely linked.
What is a sustainable diet?
Food is one of the world’s major challenges, with food requirements expected to double by 2050. In France, food is responsible for a quarter of the country’s carbon footprint and is at the centre of many health and environmental issues, in particular, the preservation of biodiversity, and soil and water quality.
The four scenarios show that diet cannot be considered in isolation from other issues relating to the biosphere.
Soil artificialization, energy poverty, renovation: is there another economic model for construction?
Residential and tertiary buildings currently account for almost half of the country’s energy consumption and almost a quarter of its GHG emissions. Their construction consumes 51 million tonnes of materials a year and directly contributes to soil artificialization.
We therefore need to consider another economic model for construction.
Towards a new industrial model: is sufficiency harmful for French industry?
In a shift from the past 30 years, it is now widely accepted that relocating industry in France is vital for the economy and its resilience. However, this relocation is not a simple matter in a world of globalised trade and will not be without impact. Industrial competitiveness can be developed with two levers:
- a new industrial model that favours quality over quantity and is based on a circular economy.
- a more quantitative model, but with decarbonised processes and energy.
This raises the issue of the role of public policy in supporting these changes, whether in terms of support schemes or regional planning.
Water: a major challenge for societies in the years ahead
Climate change is having an ever-greater impact on the quantity and availability of water. Yet water is essential for life, as well as to our health and to modern society (agriculture, industry, leisure). Our ability to save it is therefore crucial if we are to adapt and continue to enjoy its benefits and the services it enables.
