Nîmes Métropole ready to launch a hundred actions within the framework of the Territorial Climate Air Energy Plan

The Agglo has launched a fleet of electric buses on the Tango network. Midi Libre – M. A.

The community council approved the Territorial Climate Air Energy Plan for the period 2023-2029 on Monday, September 23.

During the last community council on Monday, September 23, elected officials approved the Territorial Climate Air Energy Plan (PCAET) for the period 2023-2029, “a planning approach, both strategic and operational, which should enable Nîmes Métropole to conduct an energy and ecological transition policy in the territory”.

Already approved at the council meeting of September 25, 2023, the PCAET project presents ambitious objectives for 2030. It provides for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 26%, a reduction in energy consumption of 18% and an increase in the production of renewable energies of 18%. 103 actions will have to be carried out around ten axes.

240 M€ over six years

These relate to low-carbon and resilient residential buildings, low-carbon mobility accessible to all, diversified and environmentally friendly local renewable energy production, and a high-performance low-carbon local economy. There is also the stated desire to move towards a zero-waste territory that is rebalanced. We are talking about resilient, committed municipalities, preserved agriculture, and economical and shared water use. The budget that will be devoted to these projects currently stands at €240 million. gross excluding taxes for the period 2023-2029. Monitoring will be carried out each year.

This Territorial Climate Air Energy Plan must be applied all the more since the observation shows that we can do better in the Agglo, particularly for energy consumption in transport, which represents 44% of the total territory. Nearly a third is due to the flow of vehicles traveling on the highways crossing the Agglo.

In these mobilities, 30 to 60% concern work reasons. This will push the Agglo to develop public transport, particularly for journeys of less than 15 km. Housing is one of the priorities for improving its energy and thermal performance, without forgetting the skills on waste and water, which will force the Agglomeration to be more eco-virtuous and to initiate actions.

What possible rapprochement between the Saint-Gilles and Montpellier airports ?

During the community council, the airport file was put on the table from the beginning, in particular when discussing the follow-up report on the recommendations of the Occitanie Regional Audit Office for the 2019 and following financial years. Among the recommendations, there is the creation of a joint development committee for the airports of Nîmes and Montpellier in order to implement a strategy. This was not implemented.

Vincent Bouget (Communist Party) regretted that there was no “fierce will to reach an agreement even though the two airports are 40 km apart.” To which Franck Proust responded as follows: “For there to be dialogue, it takes two. I do not want Montpellier airport to be cannibalized, which would force the Béziers airport and ours to close. I am open to dialogue. At the time of Georges Frêche, I had proposed to make Nîmes the 2nd airport of Montpellier. We would have had low-cost flights. Now, we find ourselves talking to the same companies, proposing the same destinations as Montpellier."

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