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CLIMATE CRISIS

Heat pumps and suburban trains: What’s Macron’s climate plan for France?

French President Emmanuel Macron laid out a new climate plan on Monday that's aimed at ending the country's dependence on fossil fuels and making its economy greener.

Heat pumps and suburban trains: What's Macron's climate plan for France?
Macron unveiled France's approach at climate-related commitments within the next seven years after special government meeting on Monday.(Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP)

President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday France will triple its heat pump production over the next four years as part of a government climate plan.

Calling heat pumps “a fabulous lever for substitution, with much lower energy consumption and emissions”, Macron said France would produce one million such devices, and train 30,000 people able to install them, by 2027 when Macron leaves office after two terms.

Heat pumps can both heat and cool air, and are increasingly seen as a climate-friendly alternative to fossil fuel heating systems such as gas boilers, as well as air conditioning.

According to the International Energy Agency, the heating of space and water accounts for almost half of the global energy use in buildings, with nearly two thirds being covered with fossil fuels.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron (3rdR) speaks at the opening of a special climate meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on September 25, 2023. (Photo by Michel Euler / POOL / AFP)

It has called for faster deployment of heat pumps and other means of decarbonising heat to meet governments’ commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Speaking after a session of a council on climate held at the presidential palace with key ministers, Macron also said that the government would spend 700 million euros ($740 million) on the creation of 13 suburban train lines, known as RER, in and around French cities “to encourage people to switch from private cars to lower-emission public transport”.

Contracts would be signed with regional authorities that would allow France’s rail industries to launch new projects, and create jobs, he said.

The climate plan would help make France more “sovereign”, “competitive” and “fair” as it decarbonises the economy, he said.

France has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to their 1990 levels.

This, Macron said, meant France had to move “twice as fast” now compared to previous years.

Industrial solutions

Turning to the price of energy, which has risen in the context of oil price rises, war in Ukraine and inflation, Macron said that France would “take back control of our electricity prices” by next month.

This, he said, would make the cost of energy both “bearable” and “visible” for households and companies.

Macron said he stood by his target of France producing at least one million electric cars by 2027, and becoming an exporter of car batteries the same year.

The climate plan, Macron said, was part of France’s strategy to foster “an ecology that creates economic value” in Europe, and to end “our dependence on fossil fuels” the price of which he said totalled 120 billion euros per year for France.

As part of the plan, Macron said the government would work with high-emissions large industries such as steel and cement making and chemical industries to reduce their carbon footprint.

Its mining sector would explore for metals, including lithium and cobalt, needed for battery production, he said.

The country would also seek out sources of natural hydrogen in its territory for use in the transition towards cleaner energy.

France was also examining its possibilities to install “at least one site” for carbon capture, a fledgling process by which carbon is extracted from the air and stored, increasingly seen as necessary to reduce global warming.

A French solution for carbon capture would “reduce our dependence on the outside world” in that area, Macron said.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Households in south-west France see 42 percent hike in water prices

Households in south-west France face a 42 percent increase in the cost of water as local authorities introduce 'seasonal pricing' in an effort to encourage people to save water over the summer months.

Households in south-west France see 42 percent hike in water prices

The 37 communes that make up the Toulouse Métropole area – Toulouse plus the surrounding small towns and suburbs – have from June 1st introduced tarification saisonnière (seasonal tarifs) for water.

The idea is to make water more expensive in the summer and cheaper in the winter, and encourage people to save water during the summer when the area is often hit by droughts.

Between June 1st and October 31st, water will be 42 percent more expensive than the current cost per metre cubed.

For the remaining seven months it will be 30 percent cheaper than the current cost.

Householders in the Toulouse Métropole will therefore pay €4.40 per metre cubed in the summer and €2.58 per m3 in the winter.

READ ALSO How is my French water bill calculated?

The local authority says that the majority of households should see an overall saving in annual bills – due to the lower winter rate – but the idea is to encourage people to save as much water as possible in the summer, when drought often affects the area.

Of the roughly 1 million households affected, 90 percent receive their water from the Garonne, a river whose flow has been declining in recent years due to the effects of the climate crisis.

Large parts of the south-west of France are regularly placed on drought warnings during the summer, with local authorities imposing measures to limit water use – you can check the drought status of your local commune here.

Jean-Luc Moudenc, mayor of Toulouse and president of the Toulouse Métropole area, said: “The high temperatures and low rainfall observed in our region in 2022 and 2023 foreshadow the climate that the metropolis will experience in the future.

“As water is not an infinite resource, we must act collectively to preserve it.

“To adapt to climate change, Toulouse Métropole intends to reduce the amount of water taken from the Garonne by 2030, in line with the French government’s Water Plan, which calls for a 10 percent reduction. Modernisation of pipe networks to limit leaks, deployment of “intelligent” watering systems for green spaces, distribution of water-saving kits from June 2024, and rainwater recovery and storage in major development projects are just some of the solutions deployed.

“Among these measures, seasonal pricing is one of the levers for reducing day-to-day water use.

Everyone is encouraged to be more careful with their consumption, particularly from June to October, the five months of the year when water resources are at their weakest.”

Households on a low income can benefit from an exemption or spread payments – and are advised to contact their water provider.

The Toulouse Metropole is the largest area so far to introduce seasonal pricing for water, but several other towns have introduced it in recent years including Grasse in southern France, Montpellier, Libourne and Dunkirk.

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