The researchers, from the Météo France national meteorological service and the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), used a new method to assess global warming that prompted them to make “an upward revision of previous studies by up to 50 percent” of the average temperatures the country will experience by 2100.

Aurélien Ribes, the lead author of the study, noted that “recent observations suggest that France has warmed and will continue to warm more and faster than previously thought,” taking into account that the average figure of 3.8 degrees would correspond to a decrease in the greenhouse gas emissions in line with the current policies, which fall short of the Paris Agreement.

He explained that if greenhouse gas pollution were to increase due to the effects of the global energy crisis, the average temperature in France could rise by 5.6 degrees Celsius or even 6.7 degrees Celsius in a catastrophic scenario that is currently implausible.

In France, these emissions come mainly from transportation (31 percent), agriculture (19 percent), and industry (19 percent), and even though they have decreased in recent years, it was insufficient as the High Council for Climate pointed out in June.

jg/iff/mem/acm