A mid-term assessment of the Territorial Climate-Air Energy Plan (PCAET 2020-2026) was drawn up on Monday, December 16, during the agglomeration council. The 2050 objective, for the territory to be carbon neutral (as many emissions as sequestration), involves reducing emissions by 30% in 2030, compared to 2015.
Halfway through the plan, the urban area was moving towards it, but “the objectives set […] are still quite far away, concludes the summary of the report. Thus, although greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 11.6% between 2015 and 2022 (date of the latest data in the report), they remain above the initially set objective of -3.5% per year. . Even the year 2020, which saw lockdowns and therefore for the moment the lowest emissions, remains beyond the expectations set by the PCAET itself.
Transport accounts for half of emissions
The transport sector represented half of greenhouse gas production in 2015, but only reduces its impact by 2.6% before 2021 (latest year for which data is available), “which remains insufficient given its relative weight”comments the report. The city insists on efforts to decarbonize its bus fleet, but this only concerns a tiny part of the sector, the majority being dominated by automobiles. The residential and tertiary sectors reduce their emissions by 17 and 27%.
In addition, carbon sequestration, that is to say the capacity of the environment to capture CO2 is revised downwards, in particular due to the state of forests affected by global warming, and a change in calculation for agricultural crops, which are now seen as emitters of greenhouse gases. As such, the new Local Urban Plan, adopted at the start of the year, is highlighted in particular for its approach to land sobriety.
Bifurcation and acceleration
Another objective of the PCAET, the reduction in energy consumption by 22.5% between 2015 and 2030, is far from being achieved: only 3% reduction in seven years. Industry and transport will therefore consume more in 2021 than in 2015. On the other hand, the production of renewable energy increases by 17% over the same period. The agglomeration intends to further amplify it, in particular by increasing photovoltaic production, which is very much in the minority at the moment. The commissioning of two wind farms in 2023 was also not taken into account.
Figures which inspire the opposition elected official from Niort, François Gibert (Niort new energy), who calls for “a real bifurcation”. Vice-president of sustainable development Séverine Vachon admits that “it’s not enough” but ensures that the territory “accelerates”, despite the presence of highways on which it cannot act. “A curve is studied at the end, because there can be acceleration. The objective is ambitious, and we are mobilized to achieve it”adds the president of the agglomeration, Jérôme Baloge, noting the good figures for the year 2023, which could not be incorporated into the report.
