French environment minister, Nicolas Hulot, has announced that the country will outlaw the sale of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.
New measures were announced at a press conference as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to “make the planet great again”.
France also intends to ban any new project involving the use of petrol, gas or coal. “The carbon neutral objective will force us to make the necessary investments,” said Hulot.
In the meantime, people will be offered financial incentives to scrap their polluting vehicles for cleaner alternatives. “The government will offer each French person a bonus to replace their diesel car dating before 1997 or petrol from before 2001 by a new or second-hand vehicle,” he added.
Even the move is expected to be “tough”, Hulot said that the car industry in France was well equipped to transition according to The Telegraph. This news closely follows the announcement of Volvo to build only electric and hybrid vehicle starting in 2019.
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