France is behind on the energy renovation of buildings

With 18% of emissions in 2017 (28% by adding the production of heat and electricity) in France, the building is one of the four major sectors emitting greenhouse gases, along with transport, agriculture and industry.

And this sector "must be completely carbon-free for France to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality in 2050," said Corinne Le Quéré, president of the HCC, an independent body.

But the trajectory is not there. According to the report published Tuesday, "France has already accumulated a significant delay on the trajectory of the national low-carbon strategy (SNBC) in this sector".

"The rate of decline in emissions must go from a gentle slope, between 2 and 3% at the moment, to a steeper slope of 5% per year in this sector within a few years", noted Corinne Le Quéré.

So the HCC insists on a "massification" of the renovation of housing, public and tertiary buildings.

Annual public and private investment, currently around 13 billion euros, "will have to be multiplied at least by two in a few years" and public support systems, "currently in the order of 4 billion euros, will have to be increased. quadruplets ", according to the High Council.

In this context, the recovery plan "goes in the right direction", said Corinne Le Quéré, insisting however on the need for a "long-term" strategy.

A long term which is indeed "the major challenge of the energy performance of buildings", reacted the Ministry of Ecological Transition, assuring of the "unwavering determination of the government to accelerate its action".

Beyond the amounts, the HCC questions the effectiveness of investments.

The report calls into question the predominance of "logic by gestures": isolated acts of renovation, such as changing a boiler or insulating a roof, "generally do not allow major energy gains".

"Conditional" aid

Result, the rate of overall and efficient renovations - with a "bouquet" of work, from the complete insulation of the building to the heating system - "stagnates, with a rate of 0,2% per year on average".

Between 2012 and 2016, around 87.000 single-family homes (which represent more than half of the residential stock) jumped by at least two energy classes (in the ranking from A to G), while the SNBC, which plans 500.000 renovations per year during this five-year term, aims at a minimum objective of 370.000 complete renovations per year in 2022, 700.000 in the longer term.

To encourage the logic of comprehensive renovations, the High Council supports the Citizen's Climate Convention, which has declared itself in favor of compulsory energy renovation by 2040.

The High Council also pleads for the abolition within three years of aid for individual gestures in the device "MaPrimeRénov", for which the government has provided 2 billion euros over two years.

On the contrary, it recommends proposing "only aid conditional on reaching a level of performance".

The report also pleads for raising to 10% the reduced rate of VAT to 5,5% on energy renovation, with "contested" efficiency, and for an increase in the amount and duration of the eco-loan at interest rate. zero (Eco-PTZ) "inspired by the German example" (up to 120.000 euros over 30 years, against 30.000 euros over 15 years in France).

For this report, the HCC has reviewed German, Swedish, Dutch and British policies. And France is "at the back of the pack" with the most "energy-intensive" housing.

But renovation is also important for employment and the "reduction of vulnerabilities".

In 2017, 6,7 million people lived in fuel-poor housing, classified F or G, often called "thermal strainers". The High Council recommends that from 2025, they be classified "indecent" and can no longer be rented.

Sweden, which has succeeded in almost carbon-freeing the sector, also shows the success of a model which, from the 1970s, relied on high insulation standards for new vehicles.

This pleads for an environmental regulation of new buildings "ambitious", noted the ministry, which must present these future rules Tuesday.

The government reaffirms its unwavering determination

Barbara Pompili, Minister for Ecological Transition, and Emmanuelle Wargon, Minister Delegate in charge of Housing, salute the rich and instructive work carried out by the High Council, which offers a panoramic vision of the challenge of energy renovation as it is presented at our European neighbors.

The successes and difficulties experienced by other countries, particularly in the area of ​​financial aid or renovation obligations offer valuable lessons, while France, which made an early commitment to energy renovation, has decided to step up in this process. way, thus being at the forefront of European countries.

While pointing out areas for improvement, the High Council recognizes that the recent orientations of the French government through the recovery plan, are going in the right direction. In particular, the High Council welcomes the recent development of aid to encourage the most qualitative renovation operations, whether it be MaPrimeRenov 'or Energy Saving Certificates.

The ministers also note the priority displayed by the High Council to the decarbonisation of energy as well as to the thermal insulation of buildings, both appearing to be necessary to maintain the national climate trajectory. It is this same priority to decarbonization that the Government has endorsed through measures such as the “Coup de Pouce” of Energy Saving Certificates (CEE) aimed at supporting the replacement of oil-fired boilers. The next overhaul of the Energy Performance Diagnosis (DPE) should also offer an opportunity to better take into account the impact of each dwelling in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

The report also underlines that the major challenge of the energy performance of buildings is a long-term affair. It distinguishes the exemplary nature of the Swedish model, the success of which is based in particular on the adoption in the 1970s of very ambitious thermal regulations for new buildings. This observation can only plead in favor of an ambitious future RE2020, both in terms of energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of buildings.

The comparative analyzes and the recommendations formulated in this report are all useful insights into future decisions to be taken in France in terms of energy renovation of buildings. Barbara Pompili and Emmanuelle Wargon take note of this and reaffirm on this occasion the unwavering determination of the government to accelerate its action in this direction, to which nearly 7 billion euros are devoted in the France Relance plan.