After several postponements, Emmanuel Macron presented, this Monday, September 25, the main axes of “ecological planning” which he intends to make a marker of his five-year term, despite an environmental assessment deemed so far insufficient. In the afternoon, the Head of State met at the Elysée, for the second time, the Ecological Planning Council created after his re-election, with Elisabeth Borne and the ministers concerned. L’Express takes stock of the main announcements.
Building a “French-style” ecology
While recalling that the measures taken within the framework of the Ecological Planning Council are “the fruit of fourteen months […] consultation work”, the President of the Republic opened his speech with a stated desire to “build a French-style ecology” in order to respond to “a triple challenge”: “that of disruption and its consequences, that of a collapse of our biodiversity and that of the end of abundance.”
CO2 emissions reduced “twice as quickly as before”
From the start of his speech, Emmanuel Macron also congratulated himself on having managed “to reduce CO2 emissions, twice as quickly as before” during his first five-year term. And to add: “If we take the total effort since 1990, we have come half the way. It is the other half that we still have to do to achieve the 55% reduction in CO₂ emissions in 2030. It is therefore a path that is achievable. It involves going two and a half times faster over the next five years.”
An exit from coal planned for 2027
As announced on Sunday evening during his appearance on the 8 p.m. news, the Head of State reiterated his desire to get out of coal “by 2027”. “France will be ahead of the coal phase,” Emmanuel Macron once again promised.
A desire which is part of a process of “decarbonization of industry”, and which should allow France to “reduce” its dependence on “fossil energies”, and more specifically “coal, oil and gas”. Emmanuel Macron has set himself the objective of going “from 60% fossil fuels to 40% by 2030”.
13 metropolitan RER projects
While he had announced at the end of November 2022 the development of an RER network in ten French metropolises, the President of the Republic promised this Monday an investment of “700 million euros from the State” in order to put the rails on track. “thirteen metropolitan RERs”.
1 million electric cars on French soil by 2027
It was one of his campaign promises: Emmanuel Macron announced the production on French soil of “at least 1 million electric vehicles” by the end of the five-year term.
“Leasing” system at 100 euros presented in November
Another promise from candidate Macron, the possibility of having access to an electric vehicle thanks to a leasing system which allows you to rent a vehicle for a fixed period before becoming its eventual owner. “From November, we will be in a position […] to reveal this leasing system at 100 euros”, declared the President of the Republic, specifying that he wanted a “fair” and “well targeted” system which allows “access to electric vehicles which are produced in Europe” .
1 million heat pumps by 2027
Excluding once again the ban on gas boilers, the Head of State assured that the number of heat pumps will be multiplied by three by 2027, with the production of “a million” new devices . “We have decided […] to develop an industrial heat pump sector which is a formidable lever of substitution, much less consuming and emittingr”said Emmanuel Macron, who is also counting on the training of 30,000 installers.
Regain control over the price of our electricity
While electricity prices have continued to increase since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the President of the Republic assured that France would “regain control over the price of (its) electricity […] by the end of the year.” “There is no ecology that is competitive, if we have an electricity price that we cannot regain control of,” conceded Emmanuel Macron.
Thanks to the bill for green industry presented next month in the Council of Ministers, “we will be able, from October, to announce electricity prices which are compatible with this competitiveness […] and have prices that put us in a completely favorable and competitive situation at the European level,” said Emmanuel Macron.
Reduce dependence on glyphosate by 30%
Even though the European Commission proposed, on Wednesday September 20, to renew its authorization for ten years, Emmanuel Macron declared that France was preparing to reduce its dependence on glyphosate by “30%”.
The Head of State, however, insisted on the fact that “we will never leave farmers without solutions”, and announced the launch of an “investment strategy for research (of substitutes for glyphosate) and the support” for farmers in order to “guarantee their competitiveness”.