Key figures

View statistics on human activity’s impact on the environment and sustainable development actions.


The environmental impact of human activity in figures

Waste

• 868 million tonnes of waste were produced in France in 2008, i.e. 354 kg per person of household waste, according to the French agency for the environment and energy management (ADEME).
• 12.7 million tonnes of packaging products are collected in France each year, according to the ADEME.
• On average, 44.5 kilograms per person of household packaging waste were sorted in France in 2008, according to Planetoscope.
• 89 billion plastic bottles of water are sold each year in the world, according to Planetoscope.
• 720 million mobile phones are thrown away each year in the world, according to the ABI Search firm of consultants.
• 339 million tonnes of paper are consumed each year in the world, according to Planetoscope
• 11.6 billion euros are spent in France on waste management, according to the ADEME figures for 2006

Pollution

• 30.6 billion kilos of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere in 2010, according to Planetoscope.

• On average, 8.7 tonnes of C02 equivalent are emitted per person per year in France, according to Planetoscope.
• 4.9 million tonnes of CO₂ are produced by European cars each year, according to Planetoscope.
• 80,000 airplane flights are made every day. Civil aviation represents 2% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, according to Planetoscope.

Endangered species

• 486 species, representing 10% of all the native species in France are threatened, according to the French National inventory of natural heritage.
• Each year, 1 in every 1000 species becomes extinct, according to the WWF.
• 18 to 35% of the world's biodiversity will have become extinct by 2050 because of global warming, according to the journal "Nature".
• 952 sharks are killed every 5 minutes according to the International organisation Sea Shepherd .
  To date, 10,605 species have become extinct. Of the 41,415 species of animals identified to date, some 16,300 are currently threatened with extinction, according to the 2008 Biodiversity Conference.

Sustainable development initiatives

Renewable energy

• In terms of using energy from renewable resources, France is 13^th in Europe for wind energy, 11^th for photovoltaic and 15^th for solar water heating.

• 14.1% of the electricity in Metropolitan France is of renewable origin.
• 120,798 megawatts were produced by wind farms worldwide in 2008, according to Planetoscope.
• The world’s installed capacity of wind power in 2009 was 37,500 megawatts, the equivalent of 23 nuclear reactors.
• 22 million tonnes of biodiesel will be produced in 2010 according to the OECD, i.e. more than 700 kg per second.

Recycling

• 64.3% of household packaging products were recycled in France in 2010, according to Eco-Packaging.

Action programmes

• 836 Agenda 21 programmes have been set up by various levels of local authorities, from municipal to regional levels, according to the Committee 21.
• 658 French companies have signed up to the Global Compact.

Economy and finance

• 600,000 jobs will be created in France through green growth by 2020, according to forecasts made in February 2010 by the Boston Consulting Group.
• Economic activity worth 450 billion euros is expected to be generated in the 11-year period between 2009 and 2020, according to a study by the BCG management consulting firm commissioned by the French Ministry for Sustainable Development.
• 1.370 billion dollars is the total 2008 global turnover for goods and services associated with the environment. This figure is expected to exceed $2.74 billion in 2020 and create millions of jobs, according to a report by the UNEP.

• 3.08 billion euros were placed in pro-solidarity savings accounts in 2010, representing a 28.4% increase compared to 2009, according to the pro-solidarity financial barometer Finansol-IPSOS-La Croix.

• 30.6 billion kilos of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere in 2010, according to Planetoscope.