six things to remember from the report of the Court of Auditors

The findings of the Court of Auditors are harsh. In his report on “public action in favor of adaptation to climate change”published Tuesday March 12, the rue Cambon institution points out France’s significant shortcomings in this area. “The work of the financial courts highlights the extent of the progress to be made”, she writes. The improvements concern both the “data”that “projections” and the “norms”she specifies.

After having already noted, in February, the model of ski resorts which “runs out of steam”, the Court of Auditors looks at many subjects, from housing to transport and health. With one objective: to be concrete by putting ourselves at the level of citizens. “Many of the measures likely to be implemented to respond to the effects of global warming will modify their living conditions, in their most essential aspects: food, housing, transport, leisure, etc.”, warns the Court. Franceinfo returns to six themes raised in this very comprehensive report.

1The health risk is “still insufficiently controlled”

Heat waves, which are increasingly common with global warming caused by human activities, caused nearly 33,000 deaths between 2014 and 2022, according to Public Health France. Despite the policies put in place after the 2003 heatwave, “the number of deaths recorded during heat waves, particularly in 2020 and 2022 (respectively nearly 2,000 and 2,800 excess deaths), shows that the health risk is still insufficiently controlled”estimates the Court of Auditors.

To remedy this situation, it recommends “conduct the work necessary to better understand the consequences of heat waves on the health of vulnerable people”of “provide ourselves with the means to better understand the health situation of homeless people”to develop a “list of medications of interest in the event of a heat wave” has “systematically disseminate to healthcare professionals”and of “carry out an inventory of the real estate of health, social and medico-social establishments to assess its adaptation to heat waves”.

2 Housing is not sufficiently protected against heat, flooding and drought

The Court of Auditors pleads for a “adaptation of housing to climate change”in particular to limit the risks linked to “the increase in the frequency and intensity of heat peaks”. At total, 80% of the population lives in an area that will be exposedover the next thirty years, has between 16 and 29 unusually hot days during the months of June, July and Augustshe insists, citing an INSEE study.

The authors believe that MaPrimeRenov “only partially responds to the risk of heat peaks”, since only overseas housing can be eligible for the scheme to finance heat protection work. In August 2023, the Ministry of Housing declared itself in favor of generalizing support for work related to “summer comfort”. The Court now invites the government to “confirm the integration of solar protection processes into the scope of work eligible for support schemes for the energy renovation of housing”. Furthermore, she regrets that the inclusion of flood risk prevention in MaPrimeRenov remains for the moment “outstanding”.

The report also recommends accelerating experiments and research and development projects relating to the prevention of losses caused by floods and “the acceleration of the phenomenon of shrinkage and swelling of clay soils”, caused by the alternation of periods of rain and drought. The summary of the document recalls that more than half of individual houses are located in “moderately or highly exposed areas” at this risk, which weakens the foundations of buildings and causes cracks. Finally, she invites “regularly raise awareness among the general public” on the consequences of climate change on homes.

3Cities started to adapt “late”

In addition to housing, urban spaces must also adapt to increasing temperatures. Heat islands, which turn cities into furnaces, are becoming a growing problem. The report thus underlines that Paris “is the European capital most exposed to heatwaves”.

“While they have been obligatory for around ten years, urban intermunicipalities have only adopted adaptation strategies late”, deplore the authors of the report. In addition, the evaluation of the cost of adaptation measures to rising temperatures remains “lacunar”.

“The available data shows (…) that the amount of expenditure incurred remains limited to date.”

The Court of Auditors

in his report

The report, however, welcomes the measures taken in favor of the greening of cities, “an emerging solution” which aims to limit the effects of heat waves, but which must “be part of a broader trajectory”. The development of green spaces and the planting of trees “do not make it possible to respond to all the issues associated with heatwave episodes” and must “link with more effective measures in the short term”. On this subject, she calls for more coordination between the different “actors, including municipalities”.

4 The rail network is too vulnerable to weather events

The Court considers that it is necessary “to identify and measure adaptation costs” of the railway network and stations, today vulnerable “weather events”. She points “obsolete” of certain infrastructures such as tracks, subject to a risk of deformation in the event of extreme heat or breakage of the rails during periods of extreme cold. In 2022, weather hazards “generated 19% of the minutes of delay attributable to SNCF Réseau”. “These disruptions could be multiplied at least by 2.2 or even 2.4 by 2050 and by 8 or even 11 by 2100”warns the Court of Auditors.

In this context, the Wise Men call on the various actors in the railway sector to establish a strategy “structured adaptation” that is “supervised by the State”. This should be based on “better knowledge of the operational and financial consequences of climate change”. The Court also recommends integrating climate forecasts “in the national standards and benchmarks for the design of components of the railway network and stations”.

5The consequences on the evolution of the French coasts are not sufficiently anticipated

The French coastline is changing under the combined effects of global warming and marine flooding. “Knowledge of coastal erosion is still imperfect but already worrying”, notes the Court of Auditors. Drawing attention to the consequences of this problem “insufficiently anticipated”, it underlines that the activities and goods which will be affected by 2050 by the movement of the coastline are still poorly identified. Just like the estimation of the economic impacts of this phenomenon, which remains “very fragmented” and must be improved, note the Sages while “the corresponding issues amount to tens of billions of euros”.

The unpreparedness is such that “many areas strongly affected by coastal erosion are still not covered by a coastal risk prevention plan” and that, therefore, “urbanization can continue in threatened areas”. Among the cities concerned, absent from the list of the Climate and resilience law adopted in 2021, we find Berck (Pas-de-Calais), Ploemeur (Morbihan), Royan (Charente-Maritime), Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches- du-Rhône), Saint-Tropez (Var), Saint-Cyprien (Pyrénées-Orientales) or even Bonifacio (South Corsica). The Court of Auditors, however, welcomes the actions carried out in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, a region which, according to it, stands out, “through broad and homogeneous coverage in local action plans”.

6 The nuclear fleet and electricity transmission networks are too fragile

Nuclear power plants represent the third largest source of water consumption in France (12% of total consumption), behind agriculture (58%) and drinking water (26%). Episodes of drought, more and more frequent and intense under the effect of global warming, constitute periods of vulnerability for nuclear power plants, which need to take and discharge water from rivers to operate. their cooling system. During periods of extreme heat, nuclear power plants are regularly shut down, because the water they release exceeds the maximum temperatures set by the Nuclear Safety Authority.

In order to avoid this situation, the Court of Auditors advises “consolidate and update the scientific foundations justifying the regulatory limits on thermal discharges”while developing “research and implementation of water-efficient cooling systems”. As for new reactors under construction, it strongly recommends that operators anticipate the design and location “with regard to water management” and “climate-related constraints”.

Electricity transmission networks are also vulnerable. According to the Court of Auditors, “episodes of extreme heat and flooding, more frequent in the context of climate change, are likely to affect electricity networks”. To limit these risks, the Wise Men encourage, among other things, the executive to modify the decree which sets “the technical conditions which must be met by distributors of electrical energy to take into account the evolution of risks linked to climate change”.