Digital Publication of Professor François-Marie Bréon’s Opening Lecture

François-Marie Bréon

The Disrupted Carbon Cycle

Carbon is one of the major elements of life on Earth. It plays a role in a large number of processes that influence Earth’s climate; for example, the increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming. Photosynthesis drives the carbon cycle, with constant exchanges between the major reservoirs: the ocean, the atmosphere, the soil, and vegetation. This book describes this cycle, the changes to it caused by human activities, and the observation systems—including satellites—that have been developed to quantify these exchanges and understand the underlying mechanisms.

François-Marie Bréon, The Disrupted Carbon Cycle , Paris, Collège de France, “Opening Lectures” series, 2026.

François-Marie Bréon is a physicist and climatologist. Having spent his entire career at the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA), within what would later become the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences, he contributed to the drafting of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In 2024–2025, he served as a visiting professor in the Avenir Commun Durable Annual Chair, established with the support of the Collège de France Foundation and its major sponsors, the Covéa Foundation and TotalEnergies.