Day against energy poverty: everyone mobilized

In France, one in five people are affected by fuel poverty. Throughout the year, both in summer and in winter, due to the poor thermal quality of their homes or insufficient financial resources to meet energy bills, 12 million people suffer from this scourge and its serious consequences. consequences on their health or their budget.

The rise in energy costs and rents and the lack of overall renovation of housing aggravate the phenomenon. In 2022, 27% of French people have had difficulty paying their energy bills, compared to 18% in 2020. Each year, more and more of them are also suffering from the cold at home.

Many associative actors are mobilized to fight against energy poverty. The public authorities as well, in particular through advice and financial assistance for paying bills and renovation.

Because scaling up energy renovations is a matter of urgency. In this case, the legislative measures are evolving. A decree confirmed the timetable for a gradual ban on the rental of “thermal sieve” accommodation whose DPE is classified G, F then E. Owners will have to renovate these accommodations, or risk no longer being able to rent them. This is a concrete way to protect tenants in situations of energy poverty who until now often found themselves destitute. Owners are entitled to assistance to undertake this work: financial assistance from MaPrimeRénov, but also a tax reduction through the land deficit. Some communities go even further by totally or partially exempting their residents who have carried out energy renovation work from property tax. The government also announced an increase in the budget devoted to MaPrimeRénov', which will reach 4 billion euros in 2024, an increase of 66%. Financial aid will therefore be substantially increased with the aim of enabling 200.000 overall energy renovations from next year (compared to 66.000 today); the remaining cost, the main obstacle to the renovation of the most modest, should fall.

But we still need to go further. So that this subject at the crossroads of social and climate issues is fully taken into account, and to better inform the general public, a national day is dedicated to it for the third consecutive year.

This Thursday, November 23, 24 organizations involved in the prevention of energy poverty, the fight against exclusion and global warming are calling for a major mobilization as part of the Day Against Energy Poverty. They invite associations, communities, unions, businesses and citizens to organize awareness events throughout France.

Workshops, open days, site visits, conferences, webinars… the initiatives are numerous and varied. The full program is to be discovered here.