France overachieved CO2 reduction targets: Environment minister

Amid rising coronavirus cases and an ongoing series of protest against the new security law, France has finally heard some good news in this year. 

The European country has, surprisingly, overachieved its target for reducing carbon emissions in 2019.

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France's Environment Minister Barbara Pompili told a local newspaper that France has met its climate commitments. This announcement came a few days after a court rapped the state for not fulfilling the climate targets.

"In 2019, France kept its climate commitments and that's excellent news," the minister told the local media house.

The carbon emissions fell by 1.7 per cent that year, whereas the set target was that of 1.5 per cent.

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This statement has also come after the national emissions inventory agency CITEPA had estimated that France produced nearly 437 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2019. 

However, the environment ministry has claimed that CITEPA has now revised the estimate to 441 million tonnes, bringing a fall of 1.7 per cent.

This news has come as a good motivation for the country that aims to become carbon neutral by 2050. 

While this announcement has fetched some appreciation from locals, there are still some campaigners who believe and accuse the government of not following its own roadmap to becoming carbon neutral.

The environment minister has, however, shown hope and confidence in the government's set roadmap to achieve the aim. "We still have a long way to go but we are on track to respect our commitments. Our efforts are paying off," she said.