France’s
parliament has passed into law a ban on producing oil and gas by 2040, a mostly
symbolic gesture as the country is 99% dependent on hydrocarbon imports.
In the
vote, held by show of hands, only the rightwing Republicans party opposed,
while leftwing lawmakers abstained.
No new
permits will be granted to extract fossil fuels and no existing licences will
be renewed beyond 2040, when all production in mainland France and its overseas
territories will stop.
France
extracts the equivalent of about 815,000 tonnes of oil per year – an amount
produced in a few hours by Saudi Arabia.
But
centrist president Emmanuel Macron has said he wants France to take the lead as
a major world economy switching away from fossil fuels – and the nuclear
industry – into renewable sources.
His
government plans to stop the sale of diesel and petrol engine cars by 2040 as
well.
Above all
the ban will affect companies prospecting for oil in the French territory of
Guyana in South America, while also banning the extraction of shale gas by any
means – its extraction by fracking was banned in 2011.