Climate: how not to waste the crisis?

“Don’t waste the crisis,” a strange formula, isn’t it? Sébastien Lecornu used it on Friday night in his speech at Matignon: “We must make an opportunity out of every crisis. We must not waste a crisis, if I may use this expression, and link each new measure to a global vision for the future.”

The crisis, here we are, once again. Fuel prices have soared; heating costs will follow suit. The government is forced to respond urgently. The Prime Minister still refuses to lower taxes on fuel – it’s too expensive. He is considering new targeted assistance if the rise continues, for those who need their car the most.

Electrify

In reality, at the moment, he is very powerless. Therefore, he is trying another strategy: to bounce back, not just to endure the crisis. Try to make it useful, to at least serve something, to get rid of gas and oil faster. We are far from it: fossil fuels still account for 60% of our energy consumption.

The strategy, then? Electrification. First transport, with an extension of social leasing – 50,000 more electric cars, at a moderate rent. Then housing and heating. The Prime Minister announces one million heat pumps each year by 2030.

To electrify the country, the state will invest twice as much as today: 10 billion per year. With what money? Mystery. But the will is there: French nuclear power rather than imported gas and oil. The turn was taken. It is being accentuated. The Prime Minister promises “a global vision for the future.” In the coming days, more announcements are expected.

Greenhouse Gas: The Alert

Will this crisis finally make us move? Not only to reduce our bills, but for our living conditions, finally! That is, for the climate. Last week, a figure was released: the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 in France. It comes from Citepa, a non-profit organization: only 1.5%… Even less than the previous year. In other words, the decrease continues but it is slowing down. 1.5%, just to give you an idea, is three times less than what we need to do. If we do not act massively, we will not meet our climate commitments. We will live much worse.

Have politicians acknowledged this figure, this trend? Have you heard them? The primaries, left and right, have made headlines again, like the affairs of Jordan Bardella. The climate? No. But from this perspective, with Sébastien Lecornu’s announcements, we may have some good news. If we transition faster from fossil fuels, it will be positive for purchasing power, but also, at the same time, first for our future, for everyone. Economic urgency meets ecological urgency.

The State’s Word

It is encouraging if the government keeps its word, and not otherwise. Friday, the Prime Minister used a word we hadn’t heard in a long time: planning. That’s good. But citizens and consumers have reasons to be wary. Let’s go back to these two examples. The shift to electric cars, first. The government is reviving social leasing, this subsidy system. Very good. But is it sustainable? Two years ago, the state launched it, then suspended it due to lack of budget. Second example, housing, heating, and renovation to end thermal sieves. You know this program called Ma Prim’Renov. It has just been revived. But for months it was suspended because the authorities could not manage it properly – a fiasco.

The question is both financial and political. Governments come and go. Between speeches and actions, there is often a gap, and in the middle, citizens, consumers. If they change their car, if they renovate their home, they need to know where they are going at least. Vision, planning is very good. But for that, trust is also needed.