In their latest attempt to push out the petroleum age , France is see into ostracise all oil color and accelerator pedal exploration and production by 2040 , concord to adraft billpresented at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday .
If it obtain the go - ahead , they will be the first land to make such a move . Under the bill , France would no longer issue exploration permits , in both their mainland and overseas territory , and current permits would be gradually phase out by 2040 . It would also give the government the power to reverse down more than 40 geographic expedition requests already made , according to theNew York Times .
In short , this means France will prune its biggest ties to fossil fuels within the next 23 years . All being well , the invoice could be passed by the end of 2017 .
“ An bit to prohibit hydrocarbon licence . Determined in the face of mood change when catastrophe strike us hard,”tweetedNicolas Hulot , France ’s ecology minister , mouth in regard to Hurricane Irma , which is currently causing havoc in French territorial dominion in the Caribbean .
One of the seven " supermajor " oil companies in the world is the French - owned company Total . It is n’t yet known how the bill will affectthis multi - billion fossil fuel goliath , however it is n’t probable to be effective news for their oil color division .
While France is undoubtedly receive serious about their changeover to renewable push , this is a largely symbolical move .
“ A France without oil ? A strong symbol , even if it is 1 % of our consumption,”tweetedJean - François Julliard , director of Greenpeace France . “ For the clime , we will have to go even further . ”
The French presently import most of their oil . Their current production covers just 1 percentage of its demand , around 6 million drum worth , meaning much of their oil colour is imported . Indeed , that mean they will still spell and refine considerable amounts of oil for the foreseeable hereafter .
That said , France has been passing other environmental laws over the past class . Earlier this summer , the new government of President Emmanuel Macron top a bank note to banthe sale of petrol and diesel vehiclesby 2040 . Last yr , the Republic also stated they willshut down all its coal - evoke force plantsby 2023 . On top of all that , Macron has pledge to make France “ carbon copy - neutral ” by 2050 .
