France has no national carbon credit market of its own. Its heavy industry is covered by the EU Emissions Trading System, fossil fuels carry a carbon component in their excise taxes, and the government runs a domestic voluntary standard, the Label Bas-Carbone. France also has detailed legal rules on carbon neutral advertising. This guide explains each part. For other countries, see our countries hub, or compare France with Germany and the United Kingdom.
France’s compliance markets
French power plants, factories and airlines are covered by the EU ETS, not by a French scheme. The EU ETS was launched in 2005 and runs on a cap-and-trade basis: each allowance is the right to emit one tonne of CO₂e, and covered companies must hold enough allowances each year to match their emissionsSource 4.
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| Instrument | What it covers |
|---|---|
| EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) | Electricity and heat generation, industrial manufacturing, aviation and, since 2024, maritime transport |
| Carbon component of energy taxes (composante carbone) | Excise taxes on energy products (TICPE), coal (TICC) and natural gas (TICGN) |
| EU ETS2 | Buildings, road transport and other sectors; start postponed to 2028 |
As of Oct 2026
The EU ETS covers about 40% of EU greenhouse gas emissions and operates in all EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and NorwaySource 4. A second system for buildings and road transport, ETS2, was postponed by one year from 2027 to 2028 under the deal on the EU’s 2040 climate targetSource 5.
The carbon component of fuel taxes
France’s carbon tax is not a separate tax. It is a carbon component built into the excise taxes on energy products, coal and natural gasSource 6. It started at €7 per tonne of CO₂ in 2014 and rose each year to €44.6 per tonne in 2018, where it has been frozen since the end of 2018Source 6.
Compliance markets are for covered companies
You don’t buy EU ETS allowances to offset a personal footprint. Allowances are how covered companies meet their obligations. Our guide to voluntary vs compliance markets explains the difference.
Buying voluntary credits in France
You have two routes:
- Buy from a provider. Retailers, marketplaces and brokers sell credits from projects around the world. Ask which registry holds the credits and check they are retired in your name. Where to buy compares providers side by side.
- Finance a French project. The Label Bas-Carbone certifies projects in France, and citizens, companies and public bodies can acquire the resulting creditsSource 7.
The Label Bas-Carbone
The Ministry of Ecological Transition created the Label Bas-Carbone by decree and order in November 2018Source 7. It certifies well-defined projects that reduce emissions or store carbon, not brands, products or companiesSource 7. Its methods cover agriculture, forestry, buildings, marine ecosystems and wasteSource 7.
The label’s website lists 2,510 labelled projects and 9,167,250 potential carbon credits, of which 142,650 credits have been verifiedSource 8. The gap matters: many credits are counted before the carbon is actually stored or avoided, so ask whether you are buying verified credits or a share of future ones. The label distinguishes ex-ante and ex-post credits for this reasonSource 7.
A government registry manages labelled projects through to the transfer and retirement of their creditsSource 9.
Reduce first, then offset
Cut what you can before you buy, then use credits for the emissions that are left. Our guide for individuals shows how to size a purchase.
Claims and tax notes
What you can say about offsets
Article L229-68 of the Environment Code, in force since 25 August 2021, bars advertising a product or service as carbon neutral, or using a phrase with the same meaning, unless the advertiser makes three things easily available to the public: an emissions assessment covering direct and indirect emissions, its approach of avoiding, then reducing, then offsetting with quantified annual reduction targets, and how residual emissions are offsetSource 10. Breaches can be fined up to €20,000 for an individual and €100,000 for a companySource 10.
Decree 2022-539 applies these rules from 1 January 2023. It requires a lifecycle assessment to NF EN ISO 14067 or an equivalent standard, updated every year, and a reduction trajectory covering at least ten yearsSource 11. Credits from the Label Bas-Carbone automatically meet the decree’s standards for offset projectsSource 11.
EU law now goes further. Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans claiming, based on offsetting, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, and member states must apply it from 27 September 2026Source 12. Keep claims factual: say how many tonnes you retired and link to the registry record. Our page on the EU green-claims ban explains the new rules.
On tax, we found no official French guidance specific to buying voluntary carbon credits, as an individual or as a business. The carbon component described above is part of the excise taxes on fossil fuels, not a tax on creditsSource 6. Ask an adviser about your own case.
How to check quality before you buy
Each Verra credit represents one tonne of CO₂e reduced or removedSource 1, and registries such as Gold Standard’s track every credit from issuance to retirementSource 2. That makes three checks possible before you pay:
- Is it in a public registry? Ask for the registry and serial numbers, and check the credits are retired in your name.
- Is the method credible? The ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles set a quality threshold, and credits that meet it can carry the CCP labelSource 3.
- Is the seller clear? A good seller says what you are buying, what it charges and how and in whose name it retires credits.
Our guide to how to verify carbon credits shows the steps, and carbon credit scams lists the warning signs.
Article 6 deals
We found no official French bilateral agreement under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. France’s climate target is set at EU level: the amended EU climate law sets a 90% cut in net emissions by 2040 compared with 1990, and from 2036 up to five percentage points of that cut can come from high-quality international carbon creditsSource 5.
How to buy, step by step
Step 1: Work out what to cover
Estimate your footprint and cut what you can first.
Step 2: Choose a route
International credits from a provider, or a French project under the Label Bas-Carbone.
Step 3: Pick a provider or project
Compare providers on registry serials and certificates, or check whether Label Bas-Carbone credits are verified yet.
Step 4: Check the registry record
Confirm the credits are retired in your name.