According to French president Emmanuel Macron, France will be shutting down all of its coal plants by 2021 – two years earlier than originally planned.
Macron made the announcement during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland back in January. The initiative is just one of the green energy solutions employed by Nicolas Hulot – France’s newest ecology minister – to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In July, Hulot announced that the nation would be banning the use of petrol and diesel fueled cars by 2040. As a means of encouraging the conversion to clean energy vehicles, poorer French citizens will be given premiums that will allow them to trade their petrol-powered car for a cleaner alternative.
These actions are all part of the country’s ambitious plan to become carbon neutral by 2050.
France is one of several countries that have already announced plans to ban the use of petrol and diesel cars in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Norway, whose automotive market is already occupied by 36% electric vehicles, plans on exclusively selling clean vehicles by 2025.
India has also announced efforts to eliminate petrol and diesel cars by 2030. In order to ensure the automotive electricity is coming from a clean grid, the nation’s government is investing in the construction of 10 new alternative energy plants to replace their heavy dependence on coal.
