Définition
France's carbon footprint represents the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) induced by a country's domestic final demand (consumption by households, public administrations and non-profit organisations and investments), whether the goods or services consumed are produced domestically or imported.
France’s carbon footprint is therefore made up of:
- direct GHG emissions from households (mainly related to the combustion of passenger car fuels and the combustion of fossil fuels for home heating);
- GHG emissions from domestic production of goods and services for domestic demand (i.e. excluding exports);
- GHG emissions associated with imported goods and services, for final use by households or for intermediate consumption by businesses to produce goods and services for domestic demand.
By taking into account the greenhouse gas content of imports, the carbon footprint makes it possible to assess the pressures on the climate of French domestic demand regardless of the geographical origin of the products consumed.