As we know, cycling comes with many co-benefits, particularly for the climate, environment and health. But cycling is also an extremely energy-efficient mode of transport, something that is often overlooked when it comes to policies, investments and subsidies in the transport and mobility sector.

France is a notable exception here. Through dedicated energy efficiency programs using energy efficiency certificates (also called “white certificates”), some €275 million has been invested in cycling in the years 2018 – 2022, according to government records. Some of these programs include:

• €35 million overall investment in building bicycle parking spaces in residential and non-residential buildings. alveoleplus.fr
• The programme “Savoir rouler à vélo” (Know how to cycle) has provided cycle training to 160,000 kids from April 2019 – June 2022. The program has been such a success that it will be scaled up to “Génération Vélo” which aims to train 1,800 educators and teachers to provide cycle training to 850,000 kids annually by 2027. €21 million will initially go into the programme.
• €67 million have been provided to co-finance the purchase of some 300,000 bicycles between 2017-2022.
• €40 million will help employers to become more bicycle friendly and obtain the label “Employeur pro-vélo”. employeurprovelo.fr
• The programme Avélo1 and Avélo2 have helped 600 public authorities to develop bicycle plans. Another €30 million will be going into Avélo3 to support another 350 authorities. The 2030 objective is that by then all French regions and departments will have a cycling policy in place.
• €6 million for the creation of the “Académie des mobilités actives” (Active Mobility Academy) that has trained 600 civil servants, elected officials, civil society and other stakeholder. mobilites-actives.fr
• And €2 million for the “Académie des métiers du vélo” that co-finances the training of bike mechanics, from 2021 to 2023. Both programmes are currently being renewed for the 2023-2026 period. amv.mobilites-actives.fr
• €10 million to promote the development of cyclologistics, with the ColisActiv programme. For each package delivered, a bonus is shared between the cyclologistics company and their ordering customer, to encourage them to use bicycles rather than vans for their last-mile deliveries. colisactiv.fr

French ECF Member FUB deserves special credit as it has pushed for cycling to be eligible to benefit from energy efficiency certificates, has conceived many of these programmes above and is also a co-partner in implementing them.

What are energy efficiency certificates and how do they work in France?

The programmes listed above are financed with energy efficiency certificates. It is important to distinguish between white certificates, green certificates and energy performance certificates, as they all serve different purposes but can be confused easily: Green certificates are now standardised in many European countries in the EECS system and are awarded for the generation of renewable energy. Energy performance certificates serve the purpose of informing prospective tenants or buyers of a building of its energy performance on a grade scale and must be included in real estate listings.

In contrast, white certificates are awarded for increasing energy efficiency and generally work in the following way: The obligated parties (usually energy suppliers) have to increase energy efficiency to comply with the law. Other parties can undertake measures that improve energy efficiency and apply to be awarded white certificates. Measures accepted for the issuance of white certificates commonly include insulation of buildings and windows, modernising machinery, upgrading vehicle fleets and changing of heating or cooling systems to more energy efficient means, such as heat pumps.

Tradable white certificates work in a very similar manner to emissions trading schemes: If a party does not achieve their goals, they can buy a certificate from a party who does and fulfil their obligation in that way.

The French scheme is currently in its fifth period (2022-2025). The law in France obliges energy suppliers proportional to the energy supplied by them. The entity tasked with oversight of the system is the Pôle National des Certificats d’Économies d’Énergie (National Centre for Energy Savings Certificates, PNCEE). It is responsible for issuing the certificates.

Are white certificates also used in other European countries to finance cycling investments?

No, this is currently not the case. According to ECF research, there are only three other EU countries that have introduced white certificate schemes, but these are currently not being used for cycling investments. These countries are Italy (Titoli di Efficienza Energetica), Poland (Świadectwa efektywności energetycznej) and Spain (Certificados de Ahorro Energético). A white certificate scheme also exists in the UK.

The European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)

First adopted in 2012, the EED provides Member States with the option to introduce and manage white certificate schemes to fulfil their energy efficiency obligations. Revised in 2023, the EED (EU) 2023/955 (recast) raises the level of ambition of the EU energy efficiency target, making it binding for EU countries to collectively ensure an additional 11.7% reduction of energy consumption by 2030, compared to the 2020 reference scenario projections. 

EU countries must achieve an annual saving of 1.3% of final energy consumption by 2024, rising to 1.9% by 2028. This is understood as an important instrument to drive energy savings in end-use sectors such as buildings, industry and transport. The public sector has an exemplary role and ensures that the total final energy consumption of all public bodies combined is reduced by at least 1.9% each year, when compared to 2021.

References to cycling in the EED

Various recitals of the Directive directly highlight the importance of active mobility and even call for a modal shift to cycling:

(36) Member States should promote energy efficient means of mobility, including in their public procurement practices, such as rail, cycling, walking or shared mobility, by renewing and decarbonising fleets, encouraging a modal shift and including those modes in urban mobility planning.

(66) Member States’ energy efficiency improvement measures in transport are eligible to be taken into account for achieving their end-use energy savings obligation. Such measures include policies that are, inter alia, dedicated to promoting more efficient vehicles, a modal shift to cycling, walking and collective transport, or mobility and urban planning that reduces demand for transport. […]

(89) Lower consumer spending on energy should be achieved by assisting consumers in reducing their energy use by reducing the energy needs of buildings and improvements in the efficiency of appliances, which should be combined with the availability of low-energy transport modes integrated with public transport, shared mobility and cycling. Member States should also consider improving connectivity in rural and remote areas.

Article 9 of the recast EED on Energy efficiency obligation schemes sets out the details of how white certificate schemes could be managed and help Member States in fulfilling their obligations to achieve the amount of energy savings as set out by the directive.

Conclusion

Cycling is an extremely energy-efficient mode of transport and has been recognised by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive which is in its final stage of revision (ECF has already reported on this). The Energy Efficiency Directive allows for the use of white certificates to finance energy efficiency measures by energy suppliers, but so far France is the only country in the EU where cycling has benefited to the tune of €275 million from 2018-2022. When transposing the 2023 revised EED into national law, Member States should follow the French example.

Beate Schusta, ECF Policy Intern, contributed to this article through her research on white certificates.