Grandstand. To fight against climate change, France has set itself the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In this context, the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, recently placed the building among the highest priority projects. of decarbonization. The effort is considerable, the sector must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 53% to achieve this.
Low-carbon construction is a tremendous lever for improving the country’s carbon footprint and making it more resilient to the effects of climate change. The use of wood and other biosourced materials is the best way to make the ecological transition real in the territories. We are convinced of this and it is for this reason that we, elected officials, architects, developers, landlords, developers, representatives of civil society, are already building the cities of tomorrow by favoring materials that meet climate challenges.
However, even as the State has adopted new environmental regulations aimed at decarbonizing the building sector (RE2020), the administration is threatening this great ecological revolution with a razor-sharp decision on fire safety in establishments open to the public, in which it is clear that the rules surrounding wood and bio-based construction will be considerably tightened.
A 10 year look back
By way of example, the order provides, in essence, for the prohibition of exposed wood in buildings, numerous restrictions relating to construction methods, criteria for disqualifying the material wood in relation to other materials are all points which represent an absurdity in terms of use as well as a significant financial and environmental additional cost at a time when sobriety is set up as a cardinal value by the government itself!
Here we are back ten years, with the return of the myth of the fragility of natural materials… as if our Nordic neighbours, who build buildings of more than ten floors based on biosourced materials, were taking insane risks for their occupants.
However, this momentum of sustainable construction is launched. The Olympic and Paralympic village for Paris 2024, built on this biosourced promotion model, is a real success and makes us proud. But, let’s be clear, if these new fire regulations were transposed to housing, this village would not have been able to see the light of day in its current form.
Review fire regulations
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