Sobriety… The term has never been referred to as much as this fall. Starting with the executive. On July 14, Emmanuel Macron mentioned a “sobriety plan” being prepared, which Elisabeth Borne should present at the end of September or the beginning of October. Amazing to see how this concept, once reviled when invoked to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, has become fashionable in a few months. The war in Ukraine and the prospect of having to do without Russian hydrocarbons have passed by, aggravating the energy crisis that was simmering in Europe and exposing it to a high-risk winter. With “high prices for sure, restrictions no doubt, supply cuts maybe”, portrays Terranova.
In this context, “sobriety will be necessary to reduce our energy consumption and collectively face the shock that we are already undergoing”, continues the think-tank. It remains to embark all the French in this process of sobriety. With this in mind, Terra Nova submits fourteen measures to the debate in a note published on August 23. L author, Nicolas Goldberg“energy” manager of the think-tank, responds to 20 minutes.
What is the genesis of this note? Is it precisely this announcement of an upcoming sobriety plan, by Emmanuel Macron, on July 14?
No, we started to work on this note in June, when we began to have the first injunctions for “small gestures”. It’s good, these small gestures. They have an effect. But sobriety doesn’t stop there. We wanted to think about ways to stimulate a collective sobriety that does not denigrate these small gestures but encourages them, while having a scale effect.
In the meantime, there has been the announcement of a sobriety plan. Of course, our fourteen proposals can provide food for thought, we were also consulted by the government. We just hope that we will not retain only the short-term measures aimed at securing energy supplies this winter. Our latest proposals are much more about long-term changes. We must consider this energy crisis as an opportunity to put us collectively on the path to more active and faster decarbonization.
On June 23, Elisabeth Borne and Agnès Pannier-Runacher set the objective of reducing France’s final energy consumption by 10% within ten years… Why this course, which may seem easy at first glance, is far of being ?
For comparison, the first Energy-Climate package of the European Council, in 2008, set a target of 20% final energy savings in twenty years. It was not reached by France. Aiming for -10% in two years means going five times faster.
Sectors have already taken care to reduce their consumption, quite simply because it impacted their competitiveness. This is the case with industry. Furthermore, we have already captured the easiest sources of savings. In particular the gradual transition from incandescent lighting to fluorescence lighting (LED). Another example: the installation of doors on fridges in hypermarkets. In 2012, the sector committed to closing 75% of its fridges by 2020. This effort has led to a significant drop in electricity consumption in the sector.
Fortunately, there are still many levers to pull. In the building sector in particular.
Are we still in France in a relationship to energy as if it were abundant?
Yes, but because we are not yet feeling this energy crisis. The tariff shield [qui, depuis octobre, gèle le prix du gaz et limite à 4 % la hausse du prix de l’électricité] has annihilated any price signal that should encourage us, individuals and professionals alike, to save energy and invest in efficiency. Without it, our electricity bills would have increased by 35%. We are well aware at Terra Nova that many households are already struggling to pay their energy bills and could not afford such increases. There are all the same smarter measures to take than this tariff shield without social targeting and very financially heavy for the State [20,7 milliards d’euros au dernier décompte de juillet]. We propose to gradually extinguish it, using the money recovered by the State to strengthen aid for the most precarious.
In parallel, it is necessary to revive and generalize the tariffs created during the oil crisis of 1973 by EDF then in monopoly. In particular the differentiated rates per hour, the famous peak hours / off-peak hours. But also so-called “mobile peak” tariffs such as the EJP or Tempo. They make it possible to benefit from an advantageous price per kwh most of the year, in return for a very high price on certain days [22 pour l’EPJ] in times of very high demand. Customers are notified the day before. These tariffs have been completely abandoned
This contributes to one of the strong issues that you highlight in your note: give the right indications to the French so that they adapt their behavior?
It is one of the levers on which to work. It is far from negligible. We saw this recently with the Ecowatt system, which both individuals and professionals can sign up for. They receive alerts from RTE when there is a risk for electricity supplies, with invitations to eco-gestures. In April, the Ecowatt orange alert broadcast nationally by RTE saved 800 megawatts (MW) at peak consumption. It’s a lot. And this device is still quite confidential. Imagine if it is massive.
In the same vein, we are proposing to add an “energy weather forecast” to daily bulletins, particularly on television. It would give daily forecasts of the voltages on the electrical network, often linked to temperatures, with indications on the behavior to adopt.
Before this work on the right indicators, you recommend starting by applying existing laws. In particular on the ban on heated terraces, on the lighting of commercial signs at night… The most obvious and the easiest in the end?
The easiest, not necessarily, because it implies a desire to implement them, the means to carry out checks on the ground. But yes, many sobriety measures are already enshrined in law and are not being followed. A recent example is that heated terraces, normally prohibited since March 31 by the Climate and Resilience law. This measure was followed very little in the cold periods that followed in April, in the name of a “temporary tolerance”. The extinction of illuminated signs at night is neither monitored nor controlled.
There are also all these measures of the energy code which limit upper heating temperatures (19°C) and cooling for air conditioning (26°C) in buildings. If it turns out to be complex and intrusive to apply this type of regulation in private housing, the State and local authorities should at least apply these measures, which do not require any investment, to all of their buildings. . Applying these laws would allow significant energy savings. And that’s not the only issue. If all public buildings limit heating to 19°C, then individuals will be tempted to do so at home. If you give the French the necessary infrastructure and you show them the example, then the eco-gestures, they do them. We insist on the State’s duty to set an example. We could even go so far as to turn off the public lighting of monuments on days of tension. It’s symbolic, of course, but it would send the right signal.
And in the long term, what should be done?
We must maintain the effort on the measures already identified, for a large part, in the objectives of reducing our carbon footprint. Everything related to sustainable mobility plans (reviving rail, limiting air transport, developing soft mobility, legislating on the weight of vehicles, etc.), changes in consumption patterns (less disposables, more short circuits, etc.) , land use planning (bringing living and shopping areas closer to workplaces, etc.). We could have devoted a separate note to these subjects. For a large part, the answer will lie in the redesign of the commons rather than in energy solutions, often fossil fuels. This implies making sobriety a desirable long-term social project.