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Sweden, European champion of healthy housing

Who has the healthiest homes in the European Union? Certainly, the Swedish. While it is colder along the Baltic than in France, the residential sector of our northern neighbors consumes little or nothing. It would be 2.5 times less energy intensive than French houses and apartments, according to the indicator chosen by the High Council for the Climate (HCC), in its November report .

The Netherlands and Germany are also better ranked, in this study which relegates France to four bad points above the European Union average. In terms of energy efficiency, France would have every interest in drawing inspiration from its European neighbors , summarizes climatologist Corinne Le Quéré, president of the HCC.

Who emits the least CO emissions2 ?

Sweden is still the model to follow. Not only are its homes well insulated, but the energy mix for heating is almost carbon-free, with a high level of CO emissions.2 very low: 0.3 kgCO2/m2 per accommodation. By trying to get out of gas in the 1950s, the Swedes became champions of heat pumps, geothermal energy and renewable or recovery energies (waste incineration, waste heat recovery). Public networks are 100% owned by cities, which benefit from European Celcius project (26 million euros).

What are the French warming up to?

France has an emissions rate of 18.6 kgCO2/m2 ! Still at the back of the pack of European countries on this aspect. A shame for the country which prides itself on producing the most carbon-free electricity in the world thanks to nuclear power. The fault lies with the oil-fired boilers which still equip more than three million housing units in France. And gas. This fossil fuel also affects the climatic performance of Dutch residential buildings. It still covered 85% of the energy demand for heating in the Netherlands.

What European policies are being pursued?

The figures available and studied by the High Council for the Climate date from 2017. Those for 2021 should be better given the number of programs adopted at European or national level. With the Union having adopted a target of reducing its emissions by 55% by 2030, the Commission wants to renovate 35 million European buildings, for energy performance gains of at least 60% by 2030, compared to 2015 , she indicated in its strategy published in October.

There is work: the current renovation rate is 1% per year. The Commission has estimated that an additional € 275 billion per year in public and private funds will be needed to achieve this goal. And that it could create up to 160,000 additional jobs in construction.

Read also. A massive plan of 2.7 billion euros for public buildings

And in France ?

The government has finally taken the problem head-on to drastically reduce emissions from this sector, which represents a quarter of what France emits into the atmosphere. A vast plan of 2.7 billion euros, launched on December 14, will improve the energy performance of 4,214 public buildings: hospitals, universities, the largest thermal strainers.

In housing, no new oil (and coal) boilers will be authorized from January 2022, and gas will be banned from construction from the second quarter of 2021. The Recovery Plan will inject two billion euros into My Renovation Award help the French to renovate seven million thermal strainers. The device is expanded. From today, homeowners can use it regardless of their income. For donors, it will be from July 1.

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