This is the government’s response to the energy crisis hitting Europe this year: the sobriety plan. With him, France must reduce its energy consumption by 10% in just two years. The executive therefore released the big game this Thursday, October 6: nine ministers presented the measures of their sector to implement sobriety. Beyond the need to spend the winter avoiding power cuts, the government has insisted on long-term objectives: to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by reducing energy consumption by 40% in particular.
Will these measures be sufficient? Franceinfo asked experts who have been working on energy sobriety for many years what they thought of this plan. “It’s an effort that we can salute”analyzes from the outset Andreas Rüdinger, associate researcher at IDDRI, specialist in energy and climate policies.
“There is a desire to get everyone on board, to integrate all sectors and all players, it shows that we must act at all levels.”
Andreas Rüdinger, associate researcher at IDDRIat franceinfo
“There are a lot of advances in this sobriety plannotes for his part Nicolas Goldberg, energy consultant for Colombus Consulting and author of a Terra Nova note on energy sobriety, but it would have been interesting for them to look into the question before this summer, to have more structural measures”. Other experts share these criticisms. “Can do better”, sentence thus Yamina Saheb, doctor in energy, and author of the 3rd report of the IPCC, “France is the only European country which presents a sobriety plan, it is the positive aspect, but it is a pity that it does not take advantage of the crisis to put in place structural changes”.
With its plan, the government is relying largely on the goodwill of the French, businesses and local communities to reduce overall consumption by 10%. An attainable goal? “If all commitments are kept, yes”, supports Anne Bringault of the Climate Action Network. The measures on the heating play a lot. If everyone heats up to 19 degrees, individuals, offices, etc., that’s already a considerable drop.”
The experts indeed welcome the work of raising awareness and encouraging this 19 degree limit for heating. Nicolas Goldberg also underlines the potential effectiveness of devices for controlling the temperature of buildings, which aim in particular to lower the heating at night and on weekends when they are unoccupied. “If the tools are well deployed, it can produce long-term effects and that’s perfect because that’s where the source of energy savings is.” he assures.
Symbolic measures are also important for Andreas Rüdinger of IDDRI. Switching off lights for historical monuments during peak consumption, for example, can encourage people to take action. “Even if it does not represent a big potential in terms of energy savings, it sends the signal that something is happening”, says the energy policy specialist.
But how can you be sure that the measures will be respected? Specialists criticize the lack of follow-up in this sobriety plan. Anne Bringault, for example, regrets that the charter of 15 concrete actions, signed by voluntary companies, is a simple list of commitments: “These companies should commit to publishing their results every six months with what they have done and the impact it has had”. Switching off illuminated advertisements and shop windows between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. should also be accompanied by penalties, since“we can see that it is not applied”denounces Anne Bringault.
The government’s roadmap has very few constraints for French people and businesses. It only imposes measures on public administrations. If Andreas Rüdinger considers that a “temperature police” who would come to check the thermostat in the homes is not desirable, “there are sectors in which regulation can be very effective”explains the researcher. This is the case for speed limits on roads and highways.
The sobriety plan provides a simple recommendation to state agents not to exceed 110 km / h on the highways when using their service car, instead of the legal 130 km / h. But the recommendation is not imposed on all French people. “It is a measure which can however be defended if we consider that we are in a war economycontinues Andreas Rüdinger. This is rhetoric that Emmanuel Macron himself used at the start of the war in Ukraine”.
The expert Yamina Saheb finally regrets that the government did not go further with this plan. “Measures that may seem unacceptable in a normal situation, become more acceptable in a crisis. The government should have seized this moment”, she explains. Concretely, the “structural changes” that these specialists recommend, consist in particular in developing infrastructures and urban facilities. For example, in the sobriety plan, “it is well recommended to take the train rather than the plane but without rail deployment measures which is essential in the long term for sobriety”, regrets Nicolas Goldberg, of Colombus Consulting. “We have to make people’s lives easier to move in the right direction”summarizes Andreas Rüdinger.