New edition of the Multiannual Energy Programme (PPE – Multiannual Energy Programme): What Does It Mean for Businesses?

Article published in GPO Mag, 2nd of april 2026

| Consumer Law Finance Insurance |

Faced with the acceleration of climate change and the growing international constraints on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, France has committed to a profound transformation of its energy model, with the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In this context, the Government published on 13 February 2026 a new edition of the Programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie (PPE 3 – Multiannual Energy Programme), setting out the guidelines for national energy policy for the 2026–2035 period[1].

The PPE 3 is structured around three key priorities: energy security and sovereignty, energy price control, and the fight against climate change. The first responds to France’s persistent dependence on imported fossil fuels, the limits of which have been particularly highlighted by recent crises, notably in the context of the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East.

The second aims to preserve business competitiveness and purchasing power in an environment marked by volatile energy prices. The third focuses on developing low-carbon energy sources and reducing overall energy consumption.

These priorities are aligned with the European Union’s climate policy, in particular the European Climate Law (Règlement européen sur le climat) [2], which sets the objective of climate neutrality by 2050, as well as its revision adopted by the European Parliament on 10 February 2026, introducing an intermediate target of a 90% reduction in net emissions by 2040 compared with 1990 levels.

While these three priorities pursue long-term environmental and strategic objectives, they also have direct consequences for businesses, affecting their costs, investment decisions, and business models.

Energy security and sovereignty

The first pillar of the PPE 3 aims to ensure energy security, understood as the ability to guarantee continuous energy supply across the entire territory throughout the transition away from fossil fuels. To achieve this objective, the PPE 3 provides for a gradual transformation of the energy mix, based on the development of domestically produced energy sources, in particular nuclear power and renewable energy.

As a result, the share of fossil fuels in final energy consumption is expected to fall from 60% in 2022 to 42% in 2030, and then to 29% in 2035, while low-carbon electricity generation is expected to reach at least 560 TWh in 2030 and 640 TWh in 2035, compared with 390 TWh in 2022. This pillar is also part of a strengthened industrial sovereignty strategy, notably through the development of new value chains.

While this dynamic creates opportunities for certain companies, it also imposes significant constraints on those heavily dependent on fossil fuels, which will need to adapt their processes or even reconsider their location strategies.

Energy price control

The second pillar of the PPE 3 aims to ensure control over energy prices, in order to reconcile the energy transition with economic competitiveness. In 2023, the energy mix is mainly based on nuclear power generation (320 TWh), complemented by hydropower (54 TWh), onshore wind (48.7 TWh), and solar photovoltaic energy (23 TWh).

In this context, the PPE 3 seeks to stabilise costs by relying on an optimised energy mix. The use of nuclear power is a key component of this strategy, as it enables the production of both stable and competitive energy.

This shift leads to significant changes in corporate practices. Until now, energy management often relied on an opportunistic approach, consisting of sourcing energy at the lowest price at a given moment. From now on, the PPE 3 encourages a long-term vision aligned with public policy guidelines, requiring companies to adapt their investment decisions and their methods of securing supply contracts.

Fight against climate change

The third pillar of the PPE 3 focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by combining lower energy consumption with the increased development of low-carbon energy sources. The objective is to transition, by 2030, from a system still largely dependent on fossil fuels to a predominantly decarbonised model.

To achieve this, the PPE 3 relies in particular on improved energy efficiency, the development of renewable heat, and the electrification of end uses.

Companies will be required to invest in lower-emission technologies, adapt their supply chains, and rethink their business models in order to reduce their carbon footprint. While these adjustments may entail significant short-term costs, they are nonetheless an essential step in the transition.

Furthermore, the PPE 3 highlights that this dynamic also creates opportunities, particularly in the development of new industrial sectors and job creation, especially in renewable energy, with the expansion of wind and solar power, which support entire value chains from manufacturing to maintenance.

Conversely, maintaining or expanding investments in high-emission technologies is increasingly seen as risky.

It therefore appears that the fight against climate change is not merely a set of regulatory constraints, but a genuine driver of economic transformation to which companies must adapt. The PPE recognises this, highlighting the scale of the required efforts and referring to “investment levels unprecedented since the first Industrial Revolution”[3].

[1] Programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie (2026–2035), French climate strategy
[2] Regulation (EU) 2021/1119
[3] Programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie (2026–2035)