This post is taken from the newsletter “Human warmth”sent every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. Every week, journalist Nabil Wakim, who hosts the Chaleur Humaine podcast, answers questions from Internet users on the climate challenge. You can register for free by clicking here.
Question of the week
“Hello, I have a lot of questions about so-called “green” energy sold by suppliers, do we have enough perspective to have an inventory and know if these offers are really virtuous for the environment ? » Question asked by Sylvain at chaud [email protected]
My response: Ugh. Most so-called “green” offers have a relatively weak impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and introduce confusion. But some are more serious than others. A recent label allows us to see things more clearly.
1. What is “green” electricity?
Sorry to take a detour, but we must first explain two things: the first is that there is only one electricity network, and therefore everyone receives electricity from the same production sources . The second is that the term “green electricity” is a little misleading: all production necessarily has an environmental impact, and therefore I prefer not to use this term.
What are green offers? These are contracts offered by most electricity suppliers which rely on production from renewable sources – mainly solar panels, wind turbines, dams. This does not include nuclear power, which emits few greenhouse gases, but is not considered a renewable energy. To offer these offers, these suppliers buy certificates from renewable energy producers. These are called “guarantees of origin”. The problem is that most green offers buy these certificates from companies that produce this electricity anyway: for example, dams in Norway or Slovenia. This does not mean that this electricity will reach your home. It is above all a transaction between two companies, which allows a “green” label to be applied. Consumer associations are also calling for caution and demanding more transparency. (See here on the 60 Million Consumers site, for example.)
All this is well explained in this article from World Money from my colleague Nathalie Coulaud.
2. Are all offers this vague?
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