Advancing green growth in France: Integrating renewable energy systems, emissions mitigation, and innovation

As France pursues ambitious carbon neutrality targets by 2050, understanding the drivers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is essential. This study investigates the dynamic relationships among GHG emissions, economic growth, renewable energy use, public energy-related R&D investment, and technological innovation in France from 1990 to 2021. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approaåch, supported by DOLS, FMOLS, and CCR for robustness, the analysis examines both short-run and long-run interactions. The results confirm the existence of a long-run cointegrating relationship among the variables. Renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and public energy-related R&D investment are associated with lower GHG emissions in both the short and long run. In contrast, technological innovation shows a positive association with emissions, indicating potential ecological trade-offs. These findings suggest that France’s decarbonization strategy should continue to emphasize renewable energy expansion, sustained public support for energy-related R&D, and closer alignment between innovation policy and climate objectives. Overall, the results provide useful policy guidance for promoting environmental sustainability while maintaining economic growth.