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In
1999 France gave a determined boost to its policy on energy
management in order to bring the necessary reorientation immediately
into play to ensure that France will meet its Kyoto commitments
on mitigating climate change. In line with this new impetus,
the French government has decided to free up 500 million francs,
a sum it is entrusting to ADEME.
Half of the budget will be devoted to developing renewable
energies and half to energy efficiency. The sum has been shared
out according to four priority areas: encouraging research
on improving techniques combining energy efficiency and reducing
atmospheric pollution; helping decision-making for investments;
widening the range of technical solutions, particularly as
far as renewable energies are concerned; promoting long-term
investment by facilitating access to loans.
To fulfil this mission ADEME has had to rethink its strategy
and organisation. It has especially revitalised its plan for
help in decision-making by proposing to both companies and
local communities that they adopt a step-by-step approach
to questions, either through preliminary diagnostics (or advisory
and consulting services), or through studies assessing and
identifying investment needs. ADEME is also strengthening
links between research policy and diffusion of procedures
by supporting operations involving demonstra- tions and examples.
Lastly, it has set up an Energy Management Investment Insurance
Fund (FOGIME in French) to cover up to 70% of the investment
risks of small and medium-sized companies. With 50 million
francs (covering about 1.5 billion francs in loans) the Fund
will be focusing as much on investment in efficient equipment
for producing, using, recovering and stocking energy, as on
investment in energy itself.
ADEME is determined to seek out synergistic benefits between
energy management and the goals of other long-term public
priorities. Contracts being signed with regional communities
for the 2000-2006 period will be raising an extra 200 million
francs a year for energy management and renewable energies.
François Moisan
Director
of Strategy
and Communication
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© O.Sebart/ADEME
©
R.Bourguet/ADEME
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