The French music industry has assessed its carbon footprint

Greenhouse gas emissions from the French music industry reached less than 3 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2022. However, without intervention to contain them, emissions could triple by 2030.

A report published by the Centre national de la musique (CNM) entitled Réduisons notre empreinte carbone ! ("Let's Reduce our Carbon Footprint!") revealed that greenhouse gas emissions from the recorded music industry in France amounted to approximately 2,780 kilotons of CO2 equivalent in 2022 (2.78 million tons). This is the equivalent of over one million round trips from Paris to New York by plane, according to the authors.

Collectively supported by trade union organizations representing phonographic producers and distributors, within the framework of the "Green Alternatives" call for projects launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Culture, the project focused on measuring the greenhouse gas emissions associated with French music productions, both those consumed domestically and those distributed internationally by French stakeholders¹. In doing so, it considered the full life cycle of music, from its production to its consumption.

The report quantifies the carbon footprint of the activit…