France will halt sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040 so it can meet its targets under the Paris climate agreement, its newly elected president has announced.
French President Emmanuel Macron is looking to move forward with combating climate change through the pact, which was signed in 2015, after President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement in early June, according to Reuters. France’s Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot said France is also aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050.
In order to cut carbon emissions, one of France’s key policy proposals is to end the delivery of hydrocarbon licenses in the country, with legislation reflecting this decision to be pushed out later this year, according to Reuters. Further still, France is looking to end coal-generated electricity production by 2022.
The French government will look to offer financial incentives to those who scrap their diesel cars which date prior to 1997 or petrol vehicles produced before 2001 and replace with clean alternatives, according to the Telegraph.
Hulot said that the auto industry is prepared to put in the work to help achieve the government’s goal, and at a recent press conference referenced Volvo as an example of a European automaker ready to do its part, according to the Guardian. Volvo recently announced that starting in 2019 it will equip every car it builds with an electric motor.
Diesel and gasoline vehicles represented approximately 95.2% of French new car fleets in the first half of 2017, while electric vehicles hold 1.2% of the market, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, hybrid cars make up about 3.5%.
