The parliament of France has approved to pass a law to ban all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by the year 2040 within the country and its overseas territories.
Under that law that passed a final vote on Tuesday, the permits of existing drills will not be renewed and no new exploration licenses will be granted.
The French government claims the ban is a world first. However, it is largely symbolic since oil and gas produced in France accounts for just 1% of domestic consumption. The rest is imported. Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot says the law shows “current generations can take care of future generations.”
The ban is part of a larger plan to wean the French economy from fossil fuels and to fulfill France’s commitments under the Paris climate agreement to curb global warming.
In his recent tweet, Emmanuel Macron, President of France said that he is very proud that France has become the world’s first country to implement such law of banning the exploration of fossil fuels.
Very proud that France has become the first country in the world today to ban any new oil exploration licences with immediate effect and all oil extraction by 2040. #KeepItInTheGround #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 19, 2017
Countries have already started to depend on alternatives, by focusing on eco-friendly resources of energy like solar. Diesel and petrol vehicles are now being replaced by electric vehicles. Recently Singapore’s electric car-sharing programme also hit the road and Tesla’s electric Big-truck also aims at revolutionizing transport and logistics.