Fight against land artificialization: list of national or European projects of major general interest

The climate and resilience law of August 22, 2021 set the objective of achieving “zero net artificialization of soils” (ZAN) in 2050, with an intermediate objective of halving the consumption of natural, agricultural and forest areas over the period 2021-2031 compared to the previous decade.

This progressive trajectory must be expressed territorially in planning and town planning documents.

The law of July 20, 2023 aimed at facilitating the implementation of zero net artificialization (ZAN) and strengthening the support of local elected officials made it possible to provide flexibility in the system. In particular, the consumption of space induced by national or European projects of major general interest will be counted within the framework of a national envelope of 12.500 hectares (for the decade 2021-2031), so as not to weigh on regional and local trajectories. The Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion today reveals the projects selected as part of this system.

After consulting the Regions, the Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Béchu has in fact consolidated a draft decree, which must be the subject of public consultation, with a view to publication before the end of May.

The annexes to the draft decree list the 464 projects concerned, all of which can be consulted via an interactive online map. All the projects selected are divided into 2 lists. List 1 thus lists 167 projects. These are projects whose characteristics are well defined and whose schedule is certain. List 2 identifies projects for which the information available to date does not allow their inclusion in list 1, in particular with regard to uncertainties as to their nature, the actual execution of the project or the consumption of space that they involve on the period 2021-2031.

These large-scale projects, as well as the system in which they are part, make it possible to reconcile economic and territorial development on the one hand, and ecological transition on the other, in favor of sustainable development of the country.

For exemple :

The large seaport of Dunkirk (Hauts-de-France region) in the commune of Dunkirk;
The EPR2 nuclear electricity production center in the town of Penly (Normandy region);
The electrolyzer gigafactory run by the McPhy company in the town of Fontaine (Burgundy Franche-Comté region);
Guyana's national interest operation.

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