The government of France published its “Roadmap for Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels,” highlighting its initiatives to end its consumption of coal by 2030, oil by 2045, and natural gas by 2050.
The new plan was launched at the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels hosted in Santa Marta, Colombia, convened in the wake of the COP30 conference in November 2025, in which the EU and several other countries unsuccessfully pushed to include a reference to a roadmap away from fossil fuels in the final agreement. At the conclusion of COP30, the Brazil presidency committed to create science-based roadmaps over the next year on the transition away from fossil fuels and on halting deforestation, although these would be voluntary, and sit outside of the UN system.
In addition to helping France achieve its climate goals, the roadmap also highlights the planned transition away from fossil fuel’s impact on the country’s energy sovereignty. Fossil fuels, which account for approximately 65% of France’s GHG emissions, accounted for slightly less than 60% of France’s final energy consumption in 2023, with more than of fossil fuels sourced from abroad.
By energy source, coal represents less than 1% of final consumption, with oil at 38% and fossil gas at 19%. Coal is used primarily for electricity generation and industry, while oil is mostly consumed for transport, and gas is used mostly for industry and residential and tertiary buildings, according to the roadmap document.
Based on the current uses of fossil fuel-based energy, the roadmap highlights key initiatives and targets focused on areas including transport, buildings, and electricity generation. The targets and initiatives outlined in the roadmap are included largely in France’s National Low Carbon Strategy – its plan to achieve its climate goals – and the Multiannual Energy Planning, which sets quantified targets in the fields of energy consumption and production.
France’s oil consumption reduction strategy focuses largely on the large-scale electrification of transport, with targets for 66% of new cars sales being electric by 2030, plans to develop charging stations and to electrify heavy duty vehicles and buses, as well as a goal to achieve a 25% increase in public transport use by 2030.
Targeting the reduction of fossil gas consumption, the roadmap highlights plans to develop alternative heating methods, such as heat pumps, and to improve energy efficiency through building renovation. Key near-term initiatives include prohibiting the installation of gas boilers in new commercial and residential buildings by the end of 2026, and the installation of 1 million heat pumps per year by 2030. According to the roadmap, 85 terawatt-hours of gas are expected to be replaced by energy produced in France by 2030, accounting for 20% of gas imports.
The roadmap also highlights France’s plans to significantly increase the production of decarbonized energy, including plans to build new nuclear reactors and extend the lifespan of the existing nuclear fleet, to reach 15GW of installed offshore wind power in 2035, as well as the addition of 1.3 GW of installed onshore wind power annually, triple installed solar photovoltaic capacity by 2035, deploy up to 8 GW of electrolyzers by 2035 to produce hydrogen, reach a sixfold increase in biomethane production by and double biofuel consumption 2035, and to double renewable heat production and recovery to replace fossil fuels.
Click here to access France’s Roadmap for Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels.
