Under the watchword “Every gesture counts,” the French government launched an energy-saving drive Thursday to get the country through the winter without natural gas from Russia and closer to the European Union targets of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.
The French push for “energy sobriety,” months in the planning, dovetails with gas- and electricity-saving drives taking root across Europe. The war in Ukraine is forcing the continent to swiftly wean itself off cheap fossil fuels from aggressor Russia and scramble for alternative sources — a dramatic shift driving concerns of possible shortages and crushing price rises for the energy needed to power European homes and industries.
To ward off any gas or electricity shortages in the coming winter, France’s government is aiming for a swift 10% reduction in the country’s energy use with the raft of turn-it-down, switch-it-off energy-saving measures that ministers detailed Thursday.'
They included an array of energy-saving tips, efforts to reduce energy consumption in public buildings by limiting heating and other belt-tightening, and a new ”“Every gesture counts” publicity campaign urging people to do their bit.
