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The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is categorical: if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C, it is imperative that we reduce our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 48% by 2030. Faced with this urgent situation, many experts believe that switching to emission-free electricity sources would be enough to solve the problem. But this is not the case! The challenges associated with electrification are so great that to decarbonise our economy, we also need to consider other solutions, such as hydrogen, as well as renewable gases in the shorter term. Relying on electrification alone would mean maintaining a high level of availability of our current nuclear fleet for at least the next decade, pending the arrival of new nuclear power stations.
At the same time, the production of renewable electricity will have to be increased rapidly, which will require considerable investment in electricity networks, estimated at more than €80 billion by 2035 according to the network operators. What's more, total electrification would require a radical change in consumption patterns and equipment, which poses a problem for many industrial companies, only a third of whose current energy consumption comes from electricity. In the residential sector, electrifying heating would also mean massively insulating buildings, otherwise, we run the risk of compromising the comfort of homes and not being able to guarantee the balance of the electricity system during extreme cold. Given the current rate of 65,000 complete renovations by 2022, it would take eighty years to solve the energy problems of the 5.2 million very energy-intensive homes in France.
The facts are simple: the costs and timescales required to achieve an "all-electric" energy transition are not compatible with the urgency of climate change. On the other hand, by relying on renewable gases, France can make a greater contribution to decarbonisation right now. This form of energy has the advantage of being controllable and producing continuously. What's more, not only is it produced locally, it is also compatible with existing infrastructure and facilities.
The French methanisation model, supported by farmers, offers the assurance of economically robust agriculture that respects the environment and contributes to the country's energy sovereignty. If France manages to produce 60 TWh of renewable gas by 2030, it will have the equivalent capacity of 10 900 MW nuclear power stations. In just a few years, this production would make it possible to compensate for the volumes of gas