QUANTIFIED RESULTS OF FRENCH ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: UNQUESTIONABLE PROGRESS AND PRACTICES TO BE MODIFIED IN DEPTH

In 2016 the OECD published its third Environmental Examination of France, following those published in 1997 and 2005. In conjunction with other sources of information, it provides an opportunity to take stock of the results of French environmental policy.

France catching up

Until the mid-2000s, French environmental policy was unambitious (although some elements have been in place since the 1970s). A significant example concerning the property and construction industry: the European Directive No 2002/91/EC on the energy efficiency of buildings was published on 16 December 2002. Nearly four years later, in early 2006, no text implementing the Directive had been published in France. The gap vis-à-vis notably the Northern Europe countries and Germany was therefore considerable.

Increasing awareness of the environment was demonstrated in France in 2007 with the productive negotiation of the Grenelle Environment Forum^[1] between the state, local authorities, employers, trade unions and environmental associations. The process lead to the two founding laws of the French environmental policy and its many implementing regulations: the Grenelle 1 law No 2009-967 of 3 August 2009 and the Grenelle 2 law No 2010-788 of 12 July 2010. We emphasized the importance of this new legislative framework and this new context in our editorial of August 2011.

If the same symbolic example is taken, the French regulations implementing the second European Directive No 2010/31/EU of 19 May 2010 on the energy efficiency of buildings were mostly published quickly, some being issued even before the apparition of the directive. In this field of action, the gap with Germany was significantly reduced.

After this legislative progress in 2009-2010, further progress was made in 2015-2016. Two major pieces of legislation were enacted: law No. 2015-992 of 17 August 2015 on the energy transition and law No. 2016-1087 of 8 August 2016 on biodiversity. Our editorial of September 2015 highlighted the strategic nature of the law on the energy transition. In this context, the Paris Agreement of 12 December 2015 in the framework of the COP 21, which, for the first time, defines a global action framework for the fight against climate change, is notably a success for French diplomacy.

Positive results

We will focus our concise analysis of the OECD report on quantified results, which mostly involve changes between 2000 and 2012/14, that is to say essentially before the impact in the field of the four laws voted in 2009-2010 and 2015-2016.

Positive results are highlighted by the OECD.

First major success: the decoupling of GDP growth and emissions of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) has been initiated. The country undertook in Kyoto to stabilize GHG emissions between 1990 and 2012, and in fact reduced them. The French economy is a low carbon economy, but remember that this result is primarily due to the weight of nuclear power in electricity production.

Other tangible results: the public budgets for research development for renewable energy and energy efficiency have greatly increased, as well as the number of patents for technology relating to the fight against climate change and the number of SMEs who are holders of the environmental certification ISO 14001.

Several major French companies are world leaders in the fields of water, waste management and clean technology. In the field of new construction, the 2012 thermal regulations are amongst the most ambitious in the world. Concerning biodiversity, the number of protected areas has increased and budgets have been significantly increased.

The OECD also underlines the potential impact of the laws voted in 2009-2010 and 2015-2016.

Acute deficiencies

However, the OECD points out the extent of the deficiencies that need to be addressed. The target of 23% renewable energy in 2020 in final energy consumption will not be met, the instability of regulations being one of the causes. Efforts must now concern the hyper ambitious objective of a renewable energy share of 32% in 2030.

Practices of three sectors must be profoundly changed: intensive agriculture, which results in particular in a sharp increase in the use of pesticides and water pollution, the automotive sector which is a major consumer of diesel, the property and construction sector that is slow to improve the existing stock whose energy consumption is increasing.

Property and construction are also stakeholders in the artificialisation of soil, which rose alarmingly, and in the increasing amount of waste, of which three quarters are from construction.

The progress to be made also affects biodiversity: three quarters of the habitats of European community interest and more than half of the species of European community interest have an unfavourable conservation status.

A last alarming point: the weight of environmental taxation in the economy decreased during the period.

Defenders of the status quo

The magnitude of the resistance to change shows that we are seeing a real and profound change in the ways of production, of consumption, of use and of life, and not a simple “greening” of the economy.

The global synthetic benchmark of environmental policies established in 2016 by the Bertelsmann Foundation ranks France in 14th place in a set of 41 developed countries, far behind the countries of Northern Europe, Germany and Switzerland, after the United Kingdom but ahead of Italy and Spain, and well ahead of the United States and Canada. The Foundation highlights the significant presence of lobbying in resistance to change in France.

The status quo is indeed defended by powerful lobbies, the nuclear lobby, the agriculture lobby, the car lobby, and the inaction of a large number of (big and small) leaders of the property and construction sector.

An irreversible trend

But the movement is irreversible. The United States and China, which account for nearly 40% of global GHG emissions, have ratified the Paris agreement of the COP 21. Big investors (Bank of America, AXA, Société Générale …) are withdrawing from coal.

The Hague district court sentenced the Dutch state on 24 June 2015, following a complaint by the environmental association Urgenda, for not achieving reduction targets for GHG emissions.

The prosecutor of the State of New York sued ExxonMobil on 4 November 2015, for lobbying to hide the results of scientific research on climate change and for inadequate information to shareholders on the risks associated with business activities in the area of fossil fuels. Peabody Energy, the largest US coal producer, has been in a similar court case for the last two years.

Concrete actions in the territories

Laws are only one side of the story. The quantified results of environmental policy are essentially the outcome of concrete actions in the territories, connecting and uniting motivations of local politicians, (big and small) business leaders, associations and citizens against the lobbies.

Despite the currently fashionable pessimism displayed by the majority of politicians, intellectuals and the media, practical men and women are moving forward in a very encouraging way. I would take just one example, in the most difficult field of energy transition in the real estate sector, the energy renovation of existing housing stock. The vitality of some French regional initiatives (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Grand-Est, Hauts-de-France, Normandy) described in the report on New Dynamics of Housing Renovation by the French Sustainable Building Plan is astonishing.

[1]  Grenelle Street is the street in Paris where the Ministry of Labour is located. In this Ministry, the “Grenelle negotiations” were held between government, employers and trade unions after the May1968 workers’ and students’ general strike.

RESULTATS CHIFFRES DE LA POLITIQUE ENVIRONNEMENTALE DE LA FRANCE : DES PROGRES INDENIABLES, DES PRATIQUES A MODIFIER EN PROFONDEUR

L’OCDE a publié en 2016 son troisième Examen Environnemental relatif à la France, après ceux de 1997 et de 2005. En complétant avec d’autres informations, c’est l’occasion de faire un point sur les résultats de la politique environnementale de la France.

Rattrapage du retard français

Jusqu’au milieu des années 2000, la politique environnementale de la France est peu ambitieuse (même si certains éléments en ont été définis dès les années 70). Un exemple, relatif au secteur du bâtiment, significatif parmi d’autres : la directive européenne n° 2002/91/CE relative à l’efficacité énergétique des bâtiments est publiée le 16 décembre 2002. Près de quatre ans plus tard, début 2006, aucun texte de mise en œuvre de la directive n’est publié en France. Le retard en particulier vis-à-vis des pays de l’Europe du Nord et de l’Allemagne est alors très important.

L’éveil environnemental de la France se produit en 2007 avec la négociation inédite et productive du Grenelle de l’Environnement entre l’Etat, les collectivités territoriales, le patronat, les syndicats et les associations environnementales. Le processus débouche sur les deux lois fondatrices de la politique environnementale française et leurs nombreux textes d’application: la loi Grenelle 1 n° 2009-967 du 3 août 2009 et la loi Grenelle 2 n° 2010-788 du 12 juillet 2010. Nous avions souligné l’importance de ce nouveau cadre législatif et de ce nouveau contexte dans notre éditorial d’août 2011.

S’il l’on reprend le même exemple symbolique, les textes d’application français de la seconde directive européenne n° 2010/31/UE du 19 mai 2010 sur l’efficacité énergétique des bâtiments sont pour la plupart publiés rapidement, certains l’étant même avant la directive. Dans ce domaine d’action, l’écart avec l’Allemagne diminue sensiblement.

Après cette avancée législative en 2009-2010, une deuxième avancée législative a lieu en 2015-2016. Deux grands textes législatifs ont été promulgués : la loi n°2015-992 du 17 août 2015 sur la transition énergétique et la loi n°2016-1087 du 8 août 2016 sur la biodiversité. Notre éditorial de septembre 2015 avait mis en avant le caractère stratégique de la loi sur la transition énergétique. Dans ce contexte, l’accord de Paris du 12 décembre 2015 dans le cadre de la COP 21, qui définit pour la première fois un cadre d’action mondial de lutte contre le dérèglement climatique, est notamment un succès de la diplomatie française.

Des résultats positifs

Nous allons centrer la synthèse de notre analyse du rapport de l’OCDE sur des résultats chiffrés, qui la plupart du temps portent sur l’évolution entre 2000 et 2012/14, c’est-à-dire pour l’essentiel avant l’impact sur le terrain des quatre textes législatifs des périodes 2009-2010 et 2015-2016.

Des résultats positifs sont mis en avant par l’OCDE.

Premier succès important : le découplage entre l’évolution du PIB et les émissions des gaz à effet de serre (GES) est amorcé. Le pays avait pris l’engagement à Kyoto de stabiliser les émissions de GES entre 1990 et 2012, il les a diminuées. L’économie française est une économie sobre en carbone, mais rappelons que ce résultat est avant tout dû au poids du nucléaire dans la production d’électricité.

Autres résultats tangibles : les budgets publics de recherche développement en faveur des énergies renouvelables et de l’efficacité énergétique ont fortement augmenté, ainsi que la quantité de brevets relatifs aux technologies de lutte contre le dérèglement climatique et le nombre de PME titulaires de la certification environnementale ISO 14 001.

Plusieurs grandes entreprises françaises sont des leaders mondiaux dans les champs de l’eau, de la gestion des déchets et des technologies propres. Dans le secteur de la construction neuve, la réglementation thermique 2012 est une des plus ambitieuses de la planète. Dans le domaine de la biodiversité, le nombre d’aires protégées a progressé et les budgets ont été fortement accrus.

L’OCDE rappelle aussi, pour le futur, le fort potentiel d’application sur le terrain que représentent les textes de mise en œuvre des 4 lois des périodes 2009-2010 et 2015-2016.

De fortes insuffisances

Mais l’OCDE montre l’ampleur des insuffisances à combler. L’objectif de 23% des énergies renouvelables en 2020 dans la consommation finale d’énergie ne sera pas atteint, l’instabilité des dispositions réglementaires en étant une des causes. La mobilisation doit maintenant concerner l’objectif, hyper ambitieux, d’une part des énergies renouvelables de 32 % en 2030.

Les pratiques de trois secteurs doivent être profondément modifiées : l’agriculture intensive, qui se traduit notamment par une forte augmentation de l’utilisation des pesticides et une pollution des eaux, le secteur automobile très fortement utilisateur du diesel, l’immobilier qui tarde à améliorer le parc existant dont les consommations d’énergie augmentent.

L’immobilier et le bâtiment sont également parties prenantes dans l’artificialisation des sols, qui progresse de façon inquiétante, et l’augmentation de la quantité des déchets produits, dont les trois quarts proviennent de la construction.

Les progrès à accomplir concernent aussi la biodiversité : les trois quarts des habitats d’intérêt communautaire et plus de la moitié des espèces d’intérêt communautaire sont dans un état de conservation défavorable.

Dernier point alarmant : le poids de la fiscalité écologique dans l’économie diminue durant la période.

Les défenseurs du statu quo

L’ampleur de la résistance au changement montre que nous sommes sur un changement réel et profond des modes de production, de consommation, d’usage et de vie, et non d’un simple « verdissement » de l’économie.

Le benchmark mondial synthétique des politiques environnementales établi en 2016 par la Fondation Bertelsmann classe la France au 14^ème rang dans un ensemble de 41 pays développés, loin derrière les pays d’Europe du Nord, l’Allemagne et la Suisse, après le Royaume-Uni, mais devant l’Italie et l’Espagne, et nettement devant les États-Unis et le Canada. La Fondation rappelle le poids d’importants groupes de pression dans la résistance au changement en France.

Le statut quo est en effet défendu par de puissants lobbies, le lobby nucléaire, le lobby agricole, le lobby automobile, et par l’immobilisme, dans les faits, d’une grande partie des responsables (grands et petits) de l’immobilier et du bâtiment.

Un mouvement irréversible

Mais le mouvement est irréversible. Les États-Unis et la Chine, qui représentent près de 40% des émissions mondiales de GES, ont ratifié l’accord de Paris de la COP 21. De grands investisseurs (Bank of America, AXA, Société Générale…) se désengagent du charbon.

La cour du district de La Haye a condamné l’Etat néerlandais le 24 juin 2015, sur plainte de l’association environnementale Urgenda, pour non atteinte des objectifs de diminution des émissions de GES.

Le procureur de l’Etat de New-York a assigné ExxonMobil le 4 novembre 2015 pour activité de lobbying visant à masquer les résultats des recherches scientifiques sur le changement climatique et pour information insuffisante des actionnaires sur les risques liés aux activités de l’entreprise dans le domaine des énergies fossiles. Peabody Energy, le plus important producteur de charbon des Etats-Unis, fait l’objet depuis deux ans d’une procédure similaire.

Actions concrètes dans les territoires

Les lois ne constituent qu’un cadre. Les résultats chiffrés de la politique environnementale sont essentiellement la conséquence d’actions concrètes menées dans les territoires, articulant, face aux lobbies, les motivations d’élus locaux, de dirigeants d’entreprises, grands et petits, d’associations et de citoyens.

Malgré le pessimisme de bon ton affiché par la majorité de la classe politique, des intellectuels et des médias, les hommes et les femmes de terrain avancent de façon très encourageante. Je ne prendrais qu’un seul exemple, dans le champ le plus difficile de la transition énergétique dans l’immobilier, celui de la rénovation énergétique du parc de logements existants. La vitalité des initiatives régionales (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche Comté, Grand-Est, Hauts de France, Normandie…) décrites dans les contributions au rapport Nouvelles dynamiques de la rénovation des logements du Plan Bâtiment Durable est étonnante.

ENERGY TRANSITION: FRANCE AMONG THE LEADERS

After a year of sometimes heated debate in French Parliament, law n° 2015-992 on “Energy transition for green growth” was enacted on August 17, 2015. It is a very important step on the long road to energy transition from fossil and fissile energies towards renewable energies.

1 / This law is a great strategic law, as important as the laws n° 2009-967 of 3 August 2009 and n°2010-788 of 12 July 2010, called “Grenelle[1] laws” 1 and 2, which founded the French policy on environment and sustainable development. It updates, clarifies and amplifies law n°2005-781 of 13 July 2005 laying down guidelines for the energy policy program.

The law defines the French strategy for low carbon, resources and air pollution for 2050, specifying the 2020 and 2030 steps. It reflects the shift in carbon policy of a country that was too focused on energy, in contrast to states such as the UK, Scandinavian countries or California.

The law is made up of eight parts. The first part sets objectives. The second and third parts specify the scope of transformation of two sectors with particularly high CO₂ emissions: construction and transport. The fourth part deals with the circular economy which is “to outdo the linear economic model of extracting, producing, consuming and discarding, calling for a sober and responsible consumption of natural resources and primary commodities”. The parts 5, 6 and 7 organize the development of renewable energy, limitation and safety of nuclear energy, the operation of networks and markets. Part 8 specifies steering and implementation of the policy, under the responsibility of the regions and urban agglomerations.

2 / It is an ambitious law that reinforces the low carbon EU strategy. Before the Paris Conference on Climate in December 2015, Europe has set the most ambitious low-carbon policy, compared to those implemented by the United States, China or India, even if those countries are now specifying higher objectives. The law puts France among the most advanced European countries.

The goals are ambitious: to divide emissions of greenhouse gases by four between 1990 and 2050, with a decline of 40% by 2030, to reduce final energy consumption by 50% in 2050 compared to 2012 with a reduction of 20% by 2030, to reduce primary energy consumption of fossil fuels by 30% by 2030, to increase the share of renewable energies in final energy consumption to 32% in 2030, with an interim target of 23 % in 2020 (compared to 14% today), to limit the share of nuclear in electricity production to 50% in 2025 (compared to 75% today). Other objectives relate to a sharp decrease in the production of waste and air pollution.

Moreover, the law sends a strong signal to investors by amplifying the current carbon tax to achieve a value of a tonne of carbon of 56 € in 2020 and 100 € in 2030.

For real estate and construction, the prospect is “to have a stock where all buildings are renovated to the “low consumption building” standards or similar by 2050 “, with the will to reduce energy consumption in the non-residential portfolio by at least 60% between 2010 and 2050 and to renovate 500,000 homes a year from 2017.

All dwellings which consume more than 330 kWh of primary energy per year and per m² will have to be renovated by 2025. Owners never renovate their buildings or their homes purely for energy reasons, but in the case of significant works (facelift, roof repair, construction of new rooms), an energy renovation will be “embedded” within the work.

Furthermore, in 2020, 70% of construction and public works waste should be recycled for use as materials.

3 / It is a law of motion. It defines a path for 35 years. It includes the means to monitor the achievement of objectives. Every 5 years, reviews of the implementation of low-carbon strategy and circular economy will be discussed in Parliament. The implementation of the National Waste Prevention Plan and the National Plan to reduce Air Pollution will be regularly assessed.

The law does not cover all the fields, it plans reports discussed in Parliament to engage other parts of the policy. For example, a report will be made on the issue of bonuses and penalties for landlords based on the energy performance of their property, another report will concern a comprehensive aid for buildings undergoing a complete project renovation, with evaluation of the energy performance of the works.

The law leaves the way open to experimentation, particularly in the context of the implementation of Air-Energy-Climate Plans by local authorities. It plans a strengthening of research and innovation.

4 / But the law is only a framework. The driving force behind the action is on the field in the articulation of territories, companies and citizens.

The region will play a strategic role. As stated by law, the region “constitutes the relevant level for coordinating studies, disseminating information and promoting actions for energy efficiency.” It “… promotes the establishment of regional platforms for energy renovation.” It is “the guarantor of a good match between the supply of training … and business needs.” The issue of professional skills is indeed central in the device.

The implementation is controlled by urban agglomerations, qualified by law as “coordinators of the energy transition.”

The law aims to give citizens, firms and territories “power to act together”. That is actually the key to the success of the energy transition.

The law is only a framework. The challenge is the mobilization of territories based on cooperation between local politicians, firms and citizens.

The movement is underway in several French regions: Rhône-Alpes, Nord-Pas de Calais, Alsace, Aquitaine, Bretagne, Centre, Franche-Comté, Basse-Normandie. In other regions, little is done or the action is limited to formal plans.

Regional dynamism or not, herein lies the key to the success of the energy transition.

[1] « Grenelle negotiations » between government, local authorities, employers, trade unions and non-governmental associations defined in 2007 the new French environmental national policy.  Grenelle Street is the street in Paris where the Ministry of Labour is located, where the “Grenelle negotiations” were held between government, employers and trade unions after the May 1968 workers’ and students’ general strike.