Areas of expertise

  Challenges

The damage to the global environment and the prospective depletion of essential resources caused by growing human activity constitute a dual challenge that calls for coordinated measures by multilateral organisations. It is up to individual governments to make sure that these measures are deployed, but the ADEME can provide significant support for their development and implementation.


  The ADEME's activities

Besides supporting the development and implementation of French policies in energy management and environment protection, the ADEME operates in Europe and worldwide, and responds to the needs of the countries with which it cooperates.

• On a multilateral level, the ADEME provides expert advice to French and European delegations, under the framework of the Climate Change Convention, the Sustainable Development Commission, the UNECE Transboundary Pollution Convention or the International Energy Agency Treaty.
  It can take part in large multilateral meetings and in implementing the resulting decisions.
• On a European level, it helps national representatives prepare statutory and normative texts, and monitor and lead programmes that contribute to the development of community policies.
• The ADEME participates in a large number of bilateral or decentralised cooperation programmes, thereby assisting in the development of regional, national or local policies focussing on ways to improve energy efficiency, urban environment management, the use of renewable energy or access to energy in rural areas. It supports the development of policies in these sectors, and follows up on them with concrete actions.

 Challenges

Energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources are a major challenge for everyone, especially emerging and developing countries. Indeed, the economic growth of these countries results in very high energy consumption, at a time when the depletion of fossil fuels is a major international concern. At the same time, decreasing fossil fuel consumption and the expanding use of renewable energy sources are helping to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

In all sectors (industry, construction, transport etc.), the cross-country comparison of energy efficiency indicators shows that there is significant room for progress in implementing renewable energy and reducing energy intensity by improving processes and techniques, focussing on different production structures, converting electricity production and changing lifestyles.

Hence, in 10 years, China has already reduced its industrial energy intensity by three-fold and its 11th five-year plan aims to halve the amount of energy needed to heat buildings.
It has set itself an ambitious target with regard to renewable energy sources, which should account for 12% of all energy production within the next 15 years, as opposed to 7% now.

A long-term vision is vital, as developments and infrastructures in the energy production and urban planning sectors, as well as the thermal quality of buildings, will shape energy demand for many years to come.
If nothing is done to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the overall energy supply, improve the energy efficiency of buildings and bring public transport back to the fore in urban areas, it will not be possible to maintain the current rate of economic growth without causing serious harm to the environment, on both the global and local levels.

    The ADEME's activities

The ADEME delivers expert assistance in designing and promoting energy demand control policies and developing the use of renewable energy sources. It operates under the framework of bilateral cooperation agreements or international programmes, and uses all available leverage to :

• develop and monitor energy management policies: voluntary agreements, regulations, tax incentives, special rates and financial incentives;
• foster the development of demonstration operations in the construction and transport industries and the renewable energy sector;
• develop specialised training programmes for professionals;
• promote public awareness.

 The ADEME operates within European and international networks of counterpart agencies, such as the EnR Club or MEDENER, to enable experience exchange and evaluate the impact of various measures to promote energy efficiency or renewable energy sources.
Hence the EnR Club, which was created at the instigation of the ADEME, originally devised the “energy labels” that we see on efficient household appliances. These labels, which are now compulsory throughout the European Union, are also being used in other countries such as Turkey or Tunisia.

Accelerated urbanisation is one of the most serious issues in developing countries. It aggravates the atmospheric pollution and health safety problems already caused by the lack of public transport infrastructures, water distribution and purification facilities, and waste collection and processing services. Furthermore, the construction of poorly-performing buildings will push inhabitants’ energy costs up for a long time to come.

The ADEME draws on its experience in the national arena to help define solutions in keeping with local needs.

For example it : 

• leads programmes to improve energy efficiency in buildings (Lebanon, China) or introduce environment quality measures (China); 
• provides new impetus for public transport policies, and support for public transport regulation authorities (Vietnam).

The agency develops programmes addressing waste management and draws up protocols for evaluating and managing the different processing technologies used in developing countries. In the Mediterranean zone, Africa and Asia, the ADEME is involved in expert evaluations of landfills, composting and incineration facilities. A final report will be drawn up, giving an accurate overview of the current situation and suggesting ways of improving it.

1.6 billion people living in rural and peri-urban areas in Southern countries do not have access to modern energy services, which is not conducive to the balanced development of these countries.

However, the energy access problem faced by rural communities in developing countries can be solved by joint action on the part of public and private sector organisations, the aim being to satisfy demand (in terms of vital needs, economic development and comfort) and deliver efficient and viable technico-economic solutions based on the availability of local renewable energy resources.

  The ADEME's activities

The ADEME has accumulated solid experience in decentralised rural electrification (DRE). It has demonstrated its commitment by making a stand for energy access and the development of renewable energy sources at events such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The aim is to bring energy to remote rural areas and peri-urban areas, in forms that not only improve living conditions but also create income-generating activities. This will guarantee the user’s ability to pay and hence the durability of results.

The ADEME’s two main lines of action

In partnership with major operators (Electricité de France, Morocco’s National Electricity Office, TOTAL and various engineering and design offices), non-governmental organisations (Fondation Energies pour le Monde, the Nicolas Hulot foundation, the GERES and Migration Développement) and the United Nations Development Programme, the ADEME has developed two main lines of action :

• The development of new organisation, management and planning concepts. Hence the use of geographic information systems, joint activity centres, pre-payment systems and decentralised service corporations.
• Participation in large-scale programmes. The ADEME continues to support these programmes, particularly in the fields of technology, training and communication.