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France Passes Law To Ban All Oil, Gas Production By 2040 (cbsnews.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: France's parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040 within the country and its overseas territories. Under that law that passed a final vote on Tuesday, existing drilling permits 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 percent of domestic consumption. The rest is imported. French President Emmanuel Macron responded to the approval of the law on Twitter, saying in part: "Very proud that France has become the first country in the world today to ban any new oil exploration licenses with immediate effect and all oil extraction by 2040."
making completely symbolic bans that will not provide alternative energy, nor curtail use of fossil fuels in any way....is there a name for government by marketing shitheads?
People working in industries that pollute the planet and endanger public health aren't automagically entitled to "jerbs." Bet you'd have said the same about workers who produced DDT pesticides and lead paint.
No, the French will be happily reprocessing nuclear fuel and laughing at the schmucks who are still reliant on fossil fools.
This is very symbolic: french does not export much oil, and the law does not curb on oil importations.
A side note: France does not burn much oil because it uses a lot of nuclear power. However french cars still use fuel for the most of them.
Largely a myth about the 20 million people -- bugs were developing DDT resistance, and DDT is not banned in countries that actually need it. Glad the US stepped up and banned it, though. Humanity without a clean ecosystem and healthy plants/animals is nothing.
Wait until they find out what plastic is made from.
Perfect excuse to reduce unnecessary use of plastic drastically.
In other news, gas produced by political windbags set to hold steady indefinitely.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
Only until they realize that there are many non-fuel related uses of oil such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, clothing/fabrics, asphalt etc. Then there is the question about how to power their aircraft.
Hydrogen will work for aircraft.
Ocean freighters could be nuclear-powered. See also the Otto Hahn and NS Savannah.
That is the equivalent of Australia banning Polar Bear hunting or the US banning all Koala skin exports, very brave move
However, it is largely symbolic since oil and gas produced in France accounts for just 1 percent of domestic consumption. The rest is imported.
The sum total effect of this is that France will go from importing 99% of it's oil and gas needs to 100%, big deal.
Ken
A decision to keep using oil and gas, but just stop producing it would accomplish what, exactly? Do you imagine importing oil and gas somehow lowers greenhouse gasses?
Ken
What are you talking about, they said they'd stop producing oil and gas, they never said they'd stop using oil and gas.
Ken
I've thought about this exact issue and my conclusion was that hydrogen fuel cells is the best alternative based on current technology.
The problem with this is that fuel cells generate electricity so you are now limiting yourself to a propeller aircraft which will be a lot slower than current jet technology. Even if you develop a hydrogen jet engine storing the fuel it needs is currently something we do not have the technology for since high pressure tanks are extremely heavy since they are metal and carbon fibre ones have far lower pressures.
It's certainly possible that there could be technological solutions to these problems before 2040 but isn't the sensible thing to develop the technology first and THEN motivate the switch to it by passing laws. Picking some arbitrary timescale and enshrining it in law is just daft when meeting the deadline depends on something over which you have no control.
Oh, wait, I forgot, we're all supposed to pretend Gabon's independent.
Sure, French relations with Gabon are still managed out of the old colonial office rather than from the ministry of foreign affairs, and France's treasury backs their currency, and there are a bunch of French troops permanently stationed in the country, and (now deceased) Gabonese president Omar Bongo said "Gabon without France is like a car with no driver. France without Gabon is like a car with no fuel." But Gabon is an independent country, you bet.