“Decarbonizing energy production”, “getting out of fossil fuels”… The terms differ from one program to another, but the twelve presidential candidates almost all agree on the urgency of getting out of the most impactful energies. for the climate. Either coal, oil and natural gas, which satisfy more than two-thirds of the energy consumed in France.
And even when this objective of a complete exit from fossil fuels is not clearly exposed, as with Eric Zemmour (Reconquête) or Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (Debout la France), several measures they propose go in the direction of their reduction * .
No climate skeptics displayed
None of the candidates therefore appears as an uninhibited climatosceptic. “France will respond to the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement by the means it will have chosen, at the pace and according to the stages which it will have decided”, says all the same Marine Le Pen (RN), who sees it as one of the subjects on which to reaffirm national sovereignty. In other words, the twelve stand out much more on the place they give to the energy transition and in the solutions they advocate. When they specify them.
Let’s get out of the game right away Nathalie Arthaud, Lutte Ouvrière candidateand John Lassalle (Resist), whose programs are difficult to read on this subject. An observation made by Shifters, association of volunteers backed by think-tank The Shift Project, who scrutinized programs from a climate perspective.
Unsurprisingly, a first divide is the place of nuclear power in our future energy mix, a rare ecological subject to have emerged in the campaign. On the right, from Valérie Pécresse (LR) to Marine Le Pen, we are pro-atoms. The revival of nuclear power is presented as a priority over the development of renewable energies to achieve carbon neutrality. Eric Zemmour is the most dithyrambic about the French nuclear industry, which he describes as a national jewel to be defended. President, he will remove the objective of reducing its share in our electricity mix to 50% in 2035, will stop the closure of the twelve reactors announced for 2030, and plans at least 14 others by 2050. For his part, Emmanuel Macron (LREM) reiterates the announcements made in Belfort on February 10. He thus evokes “the construction of the first six new generation nuclear power plants, but also the tenfold increase in our solar power and the establishment of 50 wind farms at sea by 2050”.
On the left, Fabien Roussel (PCF) clashes, wishing for the construction of six additional EPRs “at least”, with a view to achieving “a mix [énergétique] 100% public and 100% low-carbon” in France. The others, from Anne Hidalgo (PS) to Philippe Poutou (NPA), announce a gradual exit from nuclear power. Only the rhythm distinguishes them. Anne Hidalgo wants to make the atom “a transitional energy, without a hasty exit so as not to drive up energy prices”, which is also the position taken by Yannick Jadot (EELV) or Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI ). Philippe Poutou, he is “for stopping nuclear power in ten years” and “the immediate closure of reactors over 40 years old”.
Marine Le Pen to dismantle existing wind farms
Another subject of demarcation: wind power. There are fiercely against, in the name of the defense of French landscapes. This is the case of Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan. All propose a moratorium on the projects. The RN candidate “even wishes to launch the gradual dismantling of existing sites, starting with those which are reaching the end of their life”. Incidentally, Marine Le Pen is also for a moratorium on solar energy, the only renewable energies finding favor in her eyes being hydroelectricity and geothermal energy.
For her part, Valérie Pécresse promises that “no wind project will see the light of day without the agreement of the populations”. As we have said, Emmanuel Macron intends to develop offshore wind power. On the other hand, he is silent on onshore wind power, which is never mentioned either by Anne Hidalgo or Philippe Poutou. Fabien Roussel mentions it well in the list of renewable energies in which he intends to invest. But not more. Only Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Yannick Jadot openly defend onshore wind power. The first imagines 18,500 in 2050 (plus 3,000 at sea), and the second announces 3,000 additional masts by 2027, “taking into account landscapes and biodiversity and ensuring equitable distribution”.
And beyond the energy mix?
But the transition is not limited to the energy sources of tomorrow, and is available in economic sectors emitting greenhouse gases (GHG). Transport, housing, industry, agriculture, to name the main ones. The decarbonization of these whole sections of our economy is invariably covered by the twelve candidates. Marine Le Pen, for example, completely excludes the subject of the energy renovation of the building. On transport, the three candidates on the far right also propose measures that go against a reduction in GHG emissions from this sector (which nevertheless emits the most in France). Eric Zemmour is in particular for “the end of any prohibition for certain vehicles to circulate in town” (the Low Emission Zones – ZFE – typically), for example, and will return to a limit of 50 km / h in town. Nicolas Dupont-Aignan wants to end him “to the harassment of motorists”, by eliminating the ZFEs but also the tolls, by 2028, on the motorways.
And in others? There are major orientations found in all the programs. The end of thermal vehicles and the development of soft mobility, the need to accelerate the energy renovation of housing, that of developing the circular economy. But some evoke these subjects in just a few words, often very general (Philippe Poutou, Emmanuel Macron or Valérie Pécresse), while others develop much more (Anne Hidalgo, Fabien Roussel) or even devote entire chapters to them (Yannick Jadot and Jean- Luc Melenchon).
Mélenchon and Jadot, the closest to France’s climate objectives?
We can then see much better where these four candidates want to go. Difficult to detail all of their measures. Let us all cite the same, in the most significant, those of Anne Hidalgo to introduce a new device which will allow individuals who renovate their homes with energy to have no costs to advance at the time of the work. Or that of establishing “a social leasing system which will make electric vehicles accessible at a cost lower than the cost of a petrol vehicle”. Fabien Roussel, he will propose “the establishment of an obligation of energy renovation of housing by 2040 and global renovation of thermal sieves from 2030”. On the transport side, the PCF candidate advocates free urban public transport. Jean-Luc Mélenchon ticks similar measures in his program and looks in depth at the air. It intends to “prohibit the sale of tickets at a loss”, “stop disguised subsidies from low-cost companies” or “abolish from 2022 air connections without international connections when an alternative by train exists in less than 4 hours of travel”. Six hours, outbids Yannick Jadot for European connections. The EELV candidate will also provide a bicycle to each young person who wishes, will generalize the sustainable mobility package, and will put an end to the five million energy strainers in ten years “thanks to the complete progress of the work for low-income households and the Obligation to Renovate Rentals. »
However, for the Shifteur, the twelve candidates fail to have programs completely aligned with the climate objectives that France has set itself, particularly in its National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC). Yannick Jadot and Jean-Luc Mélenchon are the ones who come closest to it, according to the association (their complete analysis, with franceinfo, is available here). Anne Hidalgo, Fabien Roussel and Emmanuel Macron are considered “remote”. We go to “very distant” for Valérie Pécresse, Philippe Poutou or Eric Zemmour, and even “very distant or even opposite” for Marine Le Pen and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan.