France Set To Ban Sale of Petrol and Diesel Vehicles By 2040 (bbc.com)

France is planning to ban the sale of any car that uses petrol or diesel fuel by 2040. The planned ban on fossil fuel vehicles is part of a renewed commitment to the Paris climate deal, reports BBC. From the report: Hybrid cars make up about 3.5% of the French market, with pure electric vehicles accounting for just 1.2%. It is not yet clear what will happen to existing fossil fuel vehicles still in use in 2040. President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement in June was explicitly named as a factor in France's new vehicle plan. "France has decided to become carbon neutral by 2050 following the U.S. decision," Nicolas Hulot, France's ecology minister, said, adding that the government would have to make investments to meet that target. Poorer households would receive financial assistance to replace older, more polluting vehicles with cleaner ones, he said. Other targets set in the French environmental plan include ending coal power plants by 2022, reducing nuclear power to 50% of total output by 2025, and ending the issuance of new oil and gas exploration licenses.

Comments

Re:I wonder what's going to happen to the mid east

[El Cubano]

I wonder what's going to happen to the mid east when the only thing they have that's of any value is suddenly without value?

No need to wonder. Just have a look at what is going on in Venezuela right now.

Re:I wonder what's going to happen to the mid east

[Strider-]

Hydrocarbons and oil are still an extremely valuable resource, even if we aren't burning it for its BTUs. It's an integral part of the feed stocks for many chemical processes, and we'd be hard pressed to change those out. As someone once said "Crude oil is really too valuable to be burning."

Re:Is the production of new vehicles accounted for

[PopeRatzo]

My Corolla recently hit 500,000 miles, and my wife's Camry is at 290k miles.

Less than 5% of the vehicles on the road are over 20 years old.

France's plan is to stop the SALE of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. Not to force them all off the road. If Toyota is still building gasoline cars in 2039, and you buy one, you'll still be able to drive it 500,000 in France. But your next car will have to be different.

Re:I wonder what's going to happen to the mid east

[snookiex]

What are you talking about? The crisis in Venezuela barely has something to do with oil. Besides, Venezuela is full of natural resources and food, the Middle East is basically a desert.