France

France reported a single measure to its EED energy savings obligation for 2014-2030:

its White Certificates Scheme

It covers all end-use sectors (residential, industry, services, transport, agriculture).

Some of the public aids, especially for building renovations, can be cumulated with white certificates to reduce the remaining investment cost for the final customers.

Since 2016, the scheme includes an ‘energy poverty’ sub-target: obligated parties have to achieve a share of their target among low-income households. This is monitored with ‘energy poverty’ certificates, that are traded separately from the ‘classical’ white certificates.

(see below for more resources about the French white certificates scheme)

Up to now, France continues to report its White Certificates Scheme only.

France’s National Energy and Climate Plan of 2019 mentioned the possibility to report complementary policy measures, including measures related to clean mobility and modal shift, and mandatory energy performance standards for existing buildings.

PNCEE (National pole of the white certificates scheme) is a dedicated unit of Ministry in charge of energy (Ministry of Ecological Transition). They are in charge of administering the scheme, and in particular of the M&V system. PNCEE is responsible for communication and information about the scheme, examining the applications and issuing the white certificates, doing the controls, and for administrative reconciliation (i.e. checking target achievement and removing certificates handed over) at the end of each multi-year period.

The justifying documents are kept (for 10 years) by the party applying for certificates, at disposal for control purposes. Obligated or eligible parties can submit standard files to the PNCEE that issues the certificates at once for the whole lifetime energy savings (with a 4% discount rate). Since 2019, obligated parties are required to control a minimum rate of their standardised actions before submission, with requirements depending on the action type. These controls are done by accredited companies contracted by the obligated parties.

Application files for specific operations shall include an energy audit. The technical part of the file submitted may be reviewed by ADEME experts, when needed.

In addition to the controls contracted by the obligated parties, PNCEE performs controls on sample of files, according to an annual plan for controls. In 2022, the controlling activity represented a budget of EUR 5 million, including 6 400 onsite controls, and questionnaires completed by 380 000 beneficiaries.

In case of non-compliance, the certificates are cancelled and sanctions may be applied (3 c€/kWh cumac).

In case of frauds related to CEE, the Ministry may forbid the sanctioned party to submit files for CEE for a given period (in addition to cancelling the CEE subject of the fraud and to financial sanctions). Other frauds or complaints (e.g. due to bad installers) are dealt with by DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control).

The white certificates scheme includes a sub-target related to energy poverty.

To obtain ‘energy poverty’ white certificates, obligated parties have to support the implementation of energy efficiency actions among low-income households.

Since January 2022, the income threshold for the elibility of actions to ‘energy poverty’ white certificates has been reduced, corresponding to the former ‘very low-income’ group for which bonus certificates could be obtained from 2016 to 2021. Due to change in the income threshold, this previous bonus no longer applies. However, there are other bonuses, to promote given type of actions (such as high performance renovation), for which the bonus can be bigger when the actions are implemented among low-income households.

Moreover, it is possible for households to receive financial support from both, white certificates and public aids (e.g. the grant MaPrimeRenov’). Which makes possible to achieve high grant rates, depending on the income level. Complementary measures can provide financing solutions (e.g. zero-rate eco-loan) to help cover the remaining cost or the delay between the payment of the works and receiving the public aids.

The French Observatory on Energy Poverty publishes twice a year a dashboard (in French), including data about the national indicators on energy poverty, as well as about funding and results from policy measures tackling energy poverty (including the white certificates scheme).