National Low Carbon Strategy 3: The insulation sector denounces a short-sighted vision that threatens the energy transition

The signatory organizations warn of the consequences of such a policy and reiterate the strategic role that building insulation plays, both for the climate, energy efficiency and household purchasing power.

A budgetary approach deemed simplistic

The federations regret that energy renovation is still mostly assessed from the perspective of immediate budgetary cost, without sufficient consideration for the benefits generated in the long term.

Investing in insulation produces lasting effects: energy savings over several decades, a structural reduction in carbon emissions, improved occupant comfort, and a reduction in energy poverty.

With nearly 33 million homes in France, including 5 million energy-inefficient homes classified as F or G, as well as a particularly energy-intensive commercial building stock, energy renovation of buildings is a major lever for reducing consumption and achieving carbon neutrality objectives.

Furthermore, 3,5 million households are experiencing energy poverty. For federations, insulation represents a structural solution that can provide them with lasting protection against rising energy prices.

They therefore believe that the SNBC3 must fully integrate a total cost approach, consistent with the ambitions of carbon neutrality and energy sovereignty.

An industrial sector anchored in the regions

Beyond the environmental issue, the signatories emphasize the economic importance of the sector. Insulation relies on some fifty production sites spread across the country, generates an annual market of 1,5 to 2 billion euros and represents nearly 70.000 skilled jobs.

According to them, supporting this sector would therefore amount to consolidating a strategic national industrial capacity and sustainably reducing the country's energy dependence.

For a stable and transparent strategy

The federations are finally calling on public authorities to place insulation at the heart of an ambitious energy renovation policy, one that is long-term and based on regulatory stability and the visibility of support mechanisms.

For Elisabeth Bardet (FILMM), Philippe Boussemart (Mur Manteau), Joaquim Correia (AFIPEB), Vincent Hannecart (AICB), Jonathan Hartmann (SNPU) and Matthieu Lechantre (Exiba France): “At a time of fundamental choices, insulation must be recognized for what it truly is: a pillar of the energy transition, just like the electrification of uses. The insulation sector calls for a proactive, stable, and transparent public policy. Because without widespread and sustainable insulation, there will be neither successful decarbonization, nor a just transition, nor a controlled energy future.”

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.