In August 2021, articles 191 et seq. of the French Climate and Resilience Act called for the depletion of natural, agricultural and forest areas for soil artificialisation to be halved over the period 2021-2031 compared with the previous decade, and for “Zero Net Artificialisation” (ZNA) to be achieved by 2050. This ZNA target has been challenged ever since, mainly for implementation reasons

Soil artificialisation has ecological consequences such as reduced biodiversity, increased risk of flooding due to run-off, reduced carbon storage and increased greenhouse gas emissions. According to ADEME and CITEPA, every hectare that is artificialised emits between 190 and 290 tCO2. It also carries economic consequences, including the devitalisation of areas already in decline, a drop in agricultural production potential, and higher equipment costs.

After the many laws passed in France since 1985 (such as the Mountain Act, the Coastal Act, the SRU Act, the Grenelle II Act, the ALUR Act, and the ELAN Act), the 2021 Act sets targets for land use efficiency and combating urban sprawl, achievable by harnessing already artificially developed areas (wasteland, vacant premises) (1) and preserving or creating green spaces, particularly in densely populated towns and cities.

 

Key Numbers

Over the past decade, almost 24,000 hectares of natural spaces, farmland and forest have been urbanised each year, according to the French ministry of Ecological Transition. By 2022, artificialisation rates had dropped slightly to 20,276 hectares, 63% of which for housing, 23% for economic activities (including mining and manufacturing industries or industrial units in the energy, water and waste sectors), 7% for road infrastructure, 1% for rail infrastructure, and the remainder for mixed use. However, the target of halving the total to a maximum of 12,000 hectares a year remains some way off.

 

A dual objective

The Act defines soil artificialisation as the lasting alteration of all or part of a soil’s ecological functions(2) and agronomic potential through its occupation or use. It also sets both quantitative and qualitative targets. Over a ten-year period, the Act aims to reduce the surface area of soil that is artificialised at the expense of natural spaces from 250,000 hectares to 125,000 hectares, eventually achieving equilibrium between renatured and artificial surfaces, while improving soil characteristics. Success rests on two fundamental aspects: controlling urban sprawl and protecting living soil.

First, the pathway to achieving this must be laid out using planning and urban development documents (SRADDET, SDRIF, SAR, PADDUC)(3), before 22 November 2024. Next, the ScoT and PLU (4)/municipal maps will have to be reconciled at local level before 22 February 2027 and 22 February 2028 respectively. Land use efficiency will therefore be a gradual process. According to France Stratégie, “although all regions have now begun the process of amending their document to account for the obligations of the Climate and Resilience Act in terms of reducing the rate of artificialisation, they are not all progressing at the same pace. This is due in part to differing regional dynamics and usable land resources within their area.”

 

ZNA seeks equilibrium, not an end to construction

Reducing soil artificialisation does not mean that justifiable construction should be haltered (for housing, economic activities, services or facilities). In other words, the pathway must be reconciled with supporting sustainable construction, particularly in areas where the supply of housing and business premises is insufficient in relation to demand. The ZNA target for 2050 is to therefore achieve a balance between new artificial surfaces and renatured surfaces, the idea generally being that any new built-up area should be offset by the renaturation of an equivalent area.

More generally, ZNA should encourage the creation of new models for sustainable development, combining efficiency and urban quality. This mainly involves increasing the volume of development projects and reimagining land use, by prioritising the use of already-artificialised areas.

 

Exemptions

The Act allows for a number of exemptions, which include large-scale projects of national and European interest that have been excluded from the artificialisation count and cover 12,500 reserved hectares. Accordingly, in April 2024 the Ministry removed 424 large-scale projects, among them 167 already-mature projects (with set schedules) and 267 projects not yet completed.

 

A law already evolving

Interviewed by the Fédération des SCoT, elected representatives believe that the Act allows the questioning of planning practices (64%), the working-up of a property strategy (43%) and raising awareness of land issues (43%). For many however, the Act sets out the rules but offers no tools with which to apply them. Further, in the current context there is permanent demand for land (for housing, but also re-industrialisation).

For the French Mayors Association (AMF – Association des Maires de France), the ZNA approach offers more than just a mathematical aspect; it should also give elected officials the opportunity to “put their regional project back at the heart of discussion.” Two implementation decrees have therefore been re-worked, resulting in Act no. 2063-630 of 20 July 2023, aimed at facilitating implementation of the goals of combating soil artificialisation and reinforcing support for elected officials.

In addition, in July 2024 the AMF called for a halt on obligations under the scheme that were not achievable within the imposed deadlines, and the definition of a method that would make the scheme “more coherent on the objectives pursued, and closer to local dynamics and needs.”

For its part, France’s Senate Finance Committee put in place a fact-finding mission to study the financing of ZNA, with the idea of better understanding the costs in order to offer appropriate financial solutions.

 

What now?

In his general policy discussion at the start of October, outgoing Prime Minister Michel Barnier wanted to re-examine the ZNA regulations and release land “in order to respond to essential demands in industry and housing.” The Senate fact-finding mission subsequently unveiled the results of its investigations. This reveals that while there is consensus on the need for frugality in land use, difficulties and hurdles still remain. This is why it advocated not only the “strengthening of financing and technical support for communities over the 2021 – 2031 period, and operating targeted modifications to respond to major national priorities”, but also the “shaping of an artificialisation reduction pathway, and sustainable implementation methods, drawn-up by the regions themselves, for the period beyond 2031.” In mid-November, two of the Senators involved in this mission submitted draft legislation to repeal the goal set for 2031. Mr Barnier subsequently announced that he supported this proposition, the idea being to “make adjustments, relaxing the application of ZNA” while adding that “we must ensure that the objective remains in place.” We should note that local prefects are already able to grant additional leeway to communities with immediate need through the so-called “20% circular”, enabling the ZNA objectives to be exceeded by 20%. Mr Barnier also promised “to modify the decrees so that suburban gardens are not counted as artificialised surfaces and to take into account new projects of national and European scale.” Ultimately, on 29 November Mr Barnier said that he was “in favour of this, which exempts industry from the scheme for a 5-year period.” In fact, even though the industrial sector represents only a limited part (5%) of land, these rules may be damaging in the international competition to attract investment. Even the acronym ZNA may be removed and replaced by “Trace”, from the name of the two Senators’ draft legislation.

Watch this space… because this topic, like everything else relating to the environmental transition, hasn’t gone away with the motion of no confidence…

 

Rather than combating soil degradation, the No Net Land Take (ZNA) initiative is more a means of improving land use efficiency.

In a briefing note*, France Stratégie draws attention to the fact that among the main policies adopted by the regions (e.g. promoting dynamic areas, revitalising industrial areas, bringing vacant housing back into use, reversing past trends, giving rural areas a future) very few address environmental concerns. “In its current form, the ZNA initiative is more a means of improving land use efficiency than a means of combating soil degradation,” the government body says. The initiative “relies on artificialisation quotas based on the amount of land artificialised. Unlike CO2 emissions, soil degradation is not a standard form of contamination, as its impact varies according to the quality and landscape context of the affected soils. However, by relying wholly on quantitative land criteria, the ZNA initiative establishes an ecological equivalence between very different forms of soil transformation: the artificialisation of a hectare of wetland rich in biodiversity and that of a hectare of polluted and infertile farmland are therefore assessed in the same way.”

By the end of 2023, “Although preserving natural, forest and agricultural areas and restoring ecological continuity are central objectives of the ZNA initiative, less than half of the regions have chosen criteria that take these issues into account,” France Stratégie points out, adding that “when they are present, the environmental criteria  generally seek to preserve areas that are already relatively well-protected using a variety of tools, such as: Natura 2000 areas, the “cœur de parc” protected heartlands in French national parks, wilderness areas, natural areas of interest for their ecology, fauna and flora:
(Zones naturelles d’intérêt écologique, faunistique et floristique – ZNIEFF), green and blue corridors, etc.). This means that “ordinary” biodiversity, areas of little interest or those lacking natural spaces, are not considered at all.” However, it states “this could change in the near future with the adoption of the European Nature Restoration Law in July 2023, which will oblige Member States to restore at least 20% of terrestrial and marine areas.”

 

* “Objectif ZAN : quelles stratégies régionales ? “, Note d’analyse France Stratégie n°129, nov. 2023 (“The ZNA Objective: what are the regional strategies?”, briefing note by France Stratégie – No 129, published November 2023)

1) According to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTE), France has 170,000 hectares of wasteland and 1.3 million vacant sites, and 80% of the 2050 City area is already built.

2) Biological, water and climate functions in particular. On another note, soil restoration (or de-artificialisation) involves actions or operations to restore or improve the functionality of the soil, transforming artificialised soil into non-artificialised soil. The net artificialisation of soil is defined as the balance between the artificialisation and restoration of land within a given area and over a given period.

3) SRADDET – Schéma régional d’aménagement, de développement durable et d’égalité des territoires: Regional Planning, Sustainable development and Equality Scheme; SDRIF – Schéma directeur de la Région Ile-de-France: Master Scheme for Paris Region; SAR – Schéma d’aménagement régional: Regional Planning Scheme; PADDUC – Plan d’aménagement et de développement durable de la Corse: Planning and Sustainable development Scheme for Corsica.

4) SCOT – Schéma de cohérence territoriale: Territorial Coherence Scheme; PLU(i) – Plans local d’urbanisme (intercommunal): Local (inter-communal) Urban Development Plans

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