Sobriety returns for the summer. The government announced Act II of its energy consumption reduction plan on Tuesday, a few months after energy concerns amid the war in Ukraine.
In this second part, a flagship measure is put forward by the executive: pushing the French to drive slower on the highway, going from 130 km / h to 110 km / h. Within the CAC 40, 27 companies have signed up. Concretely, as part of their professional journeys, employees will be encouraged to drive at 110 km/h. An instruction had been passed in this direction to the agents of the State as of last autumn.
To preserve the climate, we need “political courage”
According to the government, the measure should make it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, while using 20% less fuel. “Going from 90km/h to 80km/h on departmental roads had already been badly perceived. As a general rule, politicians do not take up the issue because it is unpopular. But if we want to take the measure of global warming, we need political courage. The government must continue to assume its responsibilities on the issue”, considers Jean Jouzet, who recalls that this commitment had been retained from 2020 by the citizens’ convention on the climate.
In October 2022, the climatologist had signed in Release a platform to push for the adoption of such a measure. “Then, by slowing down, driving at 110 instead of 130, you instantly save up to 20% to 25% fuel. According to Négawatt and Carbone 4, this measure, coupled with the return to 80 km/h on the road and incentives for eco-driving, would bring us an annual energy saving of 65 TWh, which corresponds to 16 million tonnes of CO2, i.e. 4% of all greenhouse gas emissions in France. It is an action with immediate effectiveness, ”recalled this forum.
If he concedes that slowing down the speed on the highway will reduce fuel consumption, Jean Baptiste-Renard is not of this opinion. The researcher at the CNRS in Orléans believes that the subject of speeding on the motorway is not a priority. “If we consume less, we will produce less CO2, that’s indisputable. Is this really the action to take? What is needed is to reduce consumption from the outset, that is to say, to have vehicles that consume much less. On the highway, this is not where we consume the most. »
Speed reduction on a motorway, really a priority?
The scientist, also a member of the scientific council of the Respire association, argues. “When we are at steady speed, an engine will consume very little. What consumes the most is accelerating and braking, which you can see in town or in suburban areas”. Among the most urgent measures, according to him, to prioritize: the ban on SUVs in the city.
“It’s the end of the universal vehicle that is used for everything: shopping, taking the children to school, in town you need smaller vehicles and trying to have 2-3 people per vehicle, it’s a another philosophy that we must begin to put in place”, recommends the researcher. For this summer, the State has decided to stay at the incentive stage. “If it is not monitored too much, I think that most motorists will continue to drive like today anyway,” predicts Jacques Brinet, director of the BJH dealership in Milhaud, interviewed by France Bleu.
In a second step, the executive announces that it plans to increase the penalty for the purchase of vehicles “the most CO2 emitters and the heaviest”. Enough to convince the French to slow down? According to an Ifop poll dating from last summer, more than 60% of them said they were in favor of the application of such a measure.