2023-07-28 17:21:59
After weeks of controversy, the government finally backed down. According to media information Contextconfirmed by The echoeshe would have reconsidered his desire to ban gas boilers from 2026.
“There will be no ban on gas boilers. On the other hand, we are going to eliminate the aid that remained and play on the incentives to use other heating solutions”assured a member of the government quoted in The echoesbefore emphasizing that it was first necessary to grow alternative industrial sectors, while the majority of heat pumps are today produced in China.
Raising of shields
At first glance, the government’s proposal to ban the sale of gas boilers from 2026 seemed to be quite relevant. At present, the use of buildings – excluding construction – represents 18% of greenhouse gas emissions in France, and 60% of this total comes from gas heating, according to the Ministry of Energy Transition.
But the idea aroused an outcry from craftsmen and several associations. Calling for global renovations, the Cler network for energy transition believes that buying a heat pump without renovating the building risks increasing the bill for residents, while electricity prices are generally higher than those of gas.
Indeed, the approximately 12 million gas-heated homes are not the best insulated. According to a study by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, 70% of them have an energy performance diagnosis ranging from D to G, of which 12% are real energy sieves (classified F and G).
An argument also put forward by the UFC-Que Choisir. The consumer defense association believes that not only do residents risk paying more for heating, but in addition, the increase in demand for electricity risks increasing pressure on the network. Thus the UFC fears a postponement of supply to thermal power stations running on gas, fuel oil and coal, which are also polluting.
Official consultation
In the end, it was therefore the industrial argument that prevailed, according to the newspaper The echoes which recalls that at present the majority of gas boilers are produced in Europe, while heat pumps (PAC) are, for the most part, built in Asia, even if the sectors are in the process of evolve.
At the beginning of June, the government had launched a major official consultation on the future of gas boilers, encouraging the French to give their opinion on this proposal, as on other measures to decarbonize the building, by July 28.. He will therefore not have waited for the end of this consultation to make his decision.
Officially, he has no plans to communicate on the subject before ” autumn “once “all contributions will have been studied and synthesized”the Ministry of Energy Transition told AFP.
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