Publications

A few days after the publication of France's 2021 budget bill, and before any debates in parliament, the government released an environmental assessment of it. This assessment, often referred to as the "green budget", is an important step forward for the transparency of public action, according to Marion Fetet and Sébastien Postic from I4CE. Nevertheless, they suggest improvements to be made to the scope of the budget analyzed or to the classification of certain expenditures. And they call for making the green budget a real tool for greening the budget.

Few green budgeting initiatives have led to concrete reforms or revisions of priority investments. How can we move from simple theoretical exercises to concrete action for the environment? This is the question asked by Sébastien Postic of I4CE, Oskar Lecuyer of AFD and Jennifer Doherty-Bigara of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

2 billion euros: this is the amount that the French government will bet on hydrogen until 2022 as part of its recovery plan. An amount that will increase to reach 5.7 billion by 2030. I4CE invited researchers Jean-Pierre Ponssard from Polytechnique/CNRS and Guy Meunier from INRAE, both members of the Energy & Prosperity Chair, to analyze France's "hydrogen plan".

The French government has just officially unveiled the content of its €100 billion recovery plan, part of which is dedicated to the fight against climate change.

An international consortium of 14  expert organisations, including I4CE, has launched the "Energy Policy Tracker" website to track Covid-19 recovery packages from a climate and energy perspective. Initial results show that until now, G20 countries have granted much more aid to fossil fuels than to clean energies. What about France? Louise Kessler, Director of I4CE's Economics Programme, looks back at the government policies already adopted in France as well as those that are still at the announcement stage.

Confronted with a health crisis that has caused a global social and economic shock, the European Union and countries around the world are adopting major economic support programs. Following the initial focus that must be on overcoming the health emergency itself, actions that contribute to climate goals can be an effective part of improving both the economy and the resilience of our society. I4CE’s proposal calls for a public finance package of 7 billion euros per year that is estimated to trigger 19 billion euros of additional public and private investment. Altogether, this package would contribute to the economic recovery post-crisis, while simultaneously reinforcing our society against future shocks without reducing France’s contribution to international climate goals.

The vote on the state budget is a key moment in the fight against climate change. In France,more than 250 budget measures have been identified: expenditures, tax exemptions, taxes, all of which have a significant influence, upward or downward, on national greenhouse gas emissions. 250 reasons to keep a close eye on the state budget. […]

Environmental taxation is a hot topic in France right now, at a moment where increasing fuel prices have put the carbon tax and other green fiscal instruments under the spotlight. is contributing to the discussion on how to strengthen support for environmental taxes:   By quantifying the revenues generated by carbon pricing schemes in France […]

This climate brief highlights that while there is an acceleration of carbon pricing policy implementation, associated revenues are on the rise (USD 32 billion in 2017). This increase raises the issue of the use of revenues. I4CE distinguishes between 4 main uses of carbon revenues: Investment in low-carbon projects; Allocation to the general budget; Reduction […]

The transition to a low-carbon economy implies significant investments in buildings, transport systems, vehicles, power plants, industry, agriculture. However scaling-up those investments to meet climate and energy objectives requires an improved knowledge base in investments and financial flows in those sectors, as well as policy assessment tools.   This is why I4CE has developed since 2013 a “Landscape of domestic climate […]

A little less than a year ago, France organized the One Planet Summit and, among many commitments, joined the OECD’s Green Budgeting initiative, along with Mexico. A first assessment of these commitments was held on 26th September in New York, and the next steps on this particular initiative unveiled. This includes case studies to assess the potential scope and limitations of green budgeting in all OECD countries, including France.

Since 2014, I4CE has tracked annually the investments made in France supporting climate action, whether by households, businesses or public authorities. The Landscape of Climate Finance is a powerful tool to fuel public debate, help decision makers assess the performance of their actions, and identify the efforts that remain to be undertaken.

I4CE has designed a capacity building programme to facilitate the implementation of carbon pricing policies in Tunisia.

The Landscape of climate finance is a comprehensive study of domestic financial flows in favor of climate and the broader energy transition in France. The study maps the flows supporting investments leading to greenhouse gas mitigation across the French economy. The principal objective of the study is to support public debate on the role and relevancy of […]

In September 2016, I4CE updated its database on carbon pricing policies and published a panorama of explicit carbon pricing policies. This panorama presents an implementation timeline, a world map and a table that together, provide information on: the jurisdictions that have implemented or plan to implement explicit carbon pricing policies, the type of instrument chosen, […]

This Brief has been prepared for the High Level Dialogue on Carbon Pricing taking place at the global Climate Chance Summit for Non-state actors organised in Nantes, France from the 26th – 28th September 2016. Carbon pricing is a valuable economic tool which can help towards achieving the necessary emissions reductions to mitigate climate change. […]

For the Global Climate Chance Summit, I4CE and EpE – Entreprises pour l’environnement, have come together to release a guidebook on internal carbon pricing. The publication outlines the concept of an internal carbon price, describes its various forms and also identifies benefits of adopting this policy. The publication is based on the experiences of companies […]

The World Bank estimates that in 2015 alone, $26 billion in government revenue has been generated through carbon pricing initiatives. These revenues can be used for many purposes – including achieving climate ambitions – that could yield economic and environmental gains. This potential gain is referred to as the ‘revenue recycling effect’. Revenue allocation decisions […]

• Over the past few years, the implementation of domestic carbon pricing has been expanding at the national and sub-national level. • In contrast to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement has adopted a hybrid approach calling on all Parties to determine their own contributions to mitigate climate change affording flexibility to countries in their […]

Energy efficiency and sustainable infrastructure are the main investment domains, followed by renewable energy and nuclear. Between 2011 and 2013, climate investment increased by €6bn, with high contrast between domains. Investment in new buildings’ energy efficiency and in sustainable infrastructure increased, whereas investment in renewable energy, particularly renewable power, decreased.   Up to €36bn invested […]