Question 16172 — energy and fuels

Summary

Mr. Jérôme End draws the attention of the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty to the lack of clarity and consistency regarding public authorities' support for the production of renewable energy in France. The “climate and resilience” law of August 2021 created the mechanism of biogas production certificates (CPB), which encourages the production and injection of biomethane via a obligation to incorporate sustainable biomethane into suppliers' gas offers. The State has implemented this new system since January 1, 2026. All suppliers who deliver natural gas to residential customers as well as certain businesses and communities are obliged to return a certain number of CPB to the State, to prove their support for the biomethane sector. The quantity returned depends on the gas volumes delivered to their residential or tertiary customers. This obligation extends over a first period, called the “obligation period” and is reflected in the customer’s invoice. From 2026 to 2028, the regulations set a restitution quota which increases each year. A new trajectory had to be defined to set the objectives and the post 2028 support policy of the CPBs, but the national biogas exchange group, brought together under the aegis of the ministries of energy and agriculture and which was to be held on June 12, 2026 to define this trajectory, has just been postponed indefinitely. Agricultural organizations, methanizers, network and industrial managers, and project leaders are concerned about this delay and this lack of visibility on the future of CPBs, which prevents them from investing in the biomethane sector. More than a billion euros are thus blocked pending clarification of the framework which will be put in place in two years. Existing cogeneration units which are reaching the end of their contract are also waiting and some risk abandoning their activity due to lack of profitability, not knowing whether their biogas volumes will be able to be valorized in the coming years. In a context where France seeks to assert its energy sovereignty and accelerate its ecological transition, it is unthinkable to allow projects to be abandoned and investors to turn away from the biogas sector. This situation is all the more incomprehensible as the CPB mechanism does not weigh on public finances, gas suppliers financing the system by acquiring certificates and the cost being passed on to gas consumers. The objective of carbon neutrality cannot based solely on a logic of ever-increasing electrification of uses. Indeed, future electricity needs promise to be considerable (electric vehicles, deployment of artificial intelligence, therefore digital infrastructures, etc.) and international dependence risks being reinforced. To avoid difficulties linked to the limits of electricity networks and supply tensions, it is essential that France promotes the diversification of energy sources and particularly supports the decarbonization of gas. He therefore asks whether the Government plans to quickly publish the texts necessary for the implementation of the CPB and whether it intends to set an ambitious and credible trajectory beyond 2028.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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