Should we suspend the EECs to lower fuel prices?

The measure is presented as an emergency response to rising fuel prices. However, suspending it would weaken one of the main mechanisms for financing the energy transition, for a limited and temporary benefit. This would set a precedent that jeopardizes the stability of a key component of the energy transition.

Energy savings certificates (CEEs) are not a temporary adjustment variable. They constitute a central mechanism to enable households, businesses and communities to reduce their bills and their impact on the climate.

A suspension would be all the more damaging as the recent measures announced to phase out fossil fuels in transport (increased aid for electric vehicles, social leasing) are financed directly by the CEE.

According to Jean-Pierre Hauet, president of the scientific committee of Équilibre des Énergies: "Energy Efficiency Certificates (EECs) are more committed than ever to accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuels in transport, particularly through the strengthening of the ecological bonus and social leasing. Suspending the scheme would be tantamount to halting a strategic policy aimed at reducing the impact of future oil shocks."

Équilibre des Énergies therefore calls on the government not to give in. The issue of purchasing power and fuel prices deserves to be addressed, but not at the cost of weakening the very tools that enable us to prepare for a sustainable phase-out of fossil fuels.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.