Launch of the "France Net Zero" platform

Carbone 4 is launching the “France Net Zero”, a climate simulator that allows users to create their own carbon-neutrality scenario for France.

A Fun Approach to Carbon Neutrality

Developed in 2024 in partnership with the European Climate Foundation (ECF), ADEME and the Directorate-General for Energy and Climate (DGEC), the France Net Zero simulator was designed for audiences involved in transition-related issues (public and private decision-makers, the media, and NGOs) to help them understand the complexity of the trade-offs that must be made and to frame the scope of a reasonable debate on the ecological transition.

Designed to be both fun and educational, the platform allows users to create their own carbon-neutral scenario for 2050 by adjusting dozens of sector-specific parameters and viewing the results in real time.

Users are first asked to propose a vision of France in 2050 for each of the four sectors (Agriculture, Construction, Transportation, Industry & Waste) by adjusting the key parameters for the transition of these sectors. For example, how many homes will need to be renovated by 2050? How much carbon-free hydrogen will need to be produced? What share of French people’s daily commutes will be accounted for by cars?

The second step is to ensure the consistency and robustness of the scenario, on the one hand in terms of energy and forest resources (balance between supply and demand), and, on the other hand, in terms of risk management regarding other aspects of the ecological transition (water, biodiversity, resources, technology, sovereignty, and economic/social factors).

In addition to the “Solo” game mode, the platform also includes a “Multiplayer” mode designed to support collaborative workshops aimed at raising awareness about France’s net-zero emissions goals.

First use as part of the SNBC-3 public consultation process

The platform was developed by Carbone 4’s Consulting and IT teams in partnership with The Design Crew. It benefited from the guidance of an Advisory Board composed of members from the SGPE, the DGEC, ADEME, the Climate Action Network, La Fresque du Climat, CIRED, the Shift Project, and IDDRI.

Since November 4, 2024, the Ministry of Ecological Transition has also been promoting the platform to participants in the SNBC-3 preliminary consultation, to enable them to create the net-zero emissions scenario of their choice and submit it to the DGEC.

Carbone 4 plans to make the platform open source. In 2025, new game modes will be added to enable the creation of specific educational resources based on the platform.

The simulator is available here: https://francenetzero.fr/