French President Francois Hollande has announced that all of the country’s coal-fired power plants will be closed by 2023. He made this announcement at the COP22 UN climate change conference which is held annually. At this conference, world leaders come together on a single platform to work on solutions to the Earth’s environmental problems.
It is a big step to achieve carbon neutrality in France by 2050. France already derives over 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear fission, so it won’t be too hard for them to achieve this goal.
The Cruas nuclear power plant at night (Image courtesy Wikipedia)
France is already a world leader in using a low-carbon energy mix:
This is not the first time that France has set ambitious environmental goals. France has already made strides to ban Plastic Cups and Plates by 2020. They are constructing a 28-mile bicycle superhighway and have also started the World’s First Zero-Emission Hydrogen Powered Train to encourage people to commute without generating any pollution. France also hosted the world’s first car-free day (in Paris), and made it mandatory for all new buildings to have roofs with solar panels or plants.
Wind turbines in Lower Normandy (Image courtesy Wikipedia)
