Electric leasing and the fight against colanders: the government outlines measures in favor of the climate

Relaunching electric leasing, operations to combat thermal sieves and a fertilizer plan: the government announced on Monday, March 31, a series of measures to encourage the reduction of CO2 emissions, but without going into details at this stage.

President Emmanuel Macron convened an ecological planning council this morning to signal a "remobilization" after the pace of decline in French emissions slowed last year (-1,8%), particularly due to transport and housing.

The executive therefore reserved its first announcements for these two sectors.

"The electric leasing scheme will be relaunched from September 2025, allowing low-income households to access the benefits of electric vehicles," said Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher at a press conference.

"There will indeed be social leasing in 2025, as there was in 2024, which will begin in September. We are currently making the final adjustments," his entourage added. The scheme will be financed by energy saving certificates.

Regarding the fight against thermal sieves, the minister indicated that an operation would be launched in around ten voluntary pilot towns, in the neighborhoods and streets where the problem is most serious.

Door-to-door canvassing will be conducted to inform residents about support and assistance measures for thermal renovation, with the establishment of a "one-stop shop" to simplify the process.

Beyond these two sectors, the minister mentioned "support for the European action plan on the automobile, steel, and chemical industries and France's desire to accelerate and make them more aggressive."

The agricultural sector will be specifically the subject of a "fertilizer sovereignty plan" with, in addition, "support for the development of legumes, a plant protein plan and the production of amino acids to strengthen the protein autonomy of livestock farms and reduce our dependence on imported amino acids and soybeans."

Other avenues include "an action plan for plastic recycling that also promotes eco-design and reuse" and "accelerating the production in Europe and France of the minerals and critical materials needed for the ecological transition and continuing to map them."

The government did not provide details on all these points, referring to later announcements.

Finally, the minister mentioned a mission "on the issue of the ecological divide," which will be "entrusted in the coming days to a recognized figure in the economic field."