Public Authorities Challenge to Implement Energy Renovation of Condominium Buildings in France

In France in 2008, the “Grenelle de l’Environnement” Forum agreed and planned on energy renovation on private buildings to reduce greenhouse gases; the cost was estimated as hundreds of billion euros. Its implementation is actually more difficult than expected: in the absence of the obligation to renovate, public initiatives are required. Government strengthened incentive tax breaks, but they benefits mainly to the wealthiest individual home owners-occupiers. Public accompaniment of owners had always been necessary to improve residential co-owned buildings. Numerous local authorities helped them with the support of a national program first developed thirty years ago for social issues. Reducing carbon emissions recently became a new goal of the housing policies. This paper exposes a new device that French government has developed especially for energy renovation and that a few local authorities have experimented. It demonstrates that fight against climate change needs not only public grants but also local convergences with other aims and strong devices to convinced housing building co-owners.