France’s climate plan includes ending fossil fuel vehicle sales by 2040

Just one day after we found out that Volvo intends to stop selling cars with exclusively internal combustion engine drivetrains by 2019, France’s minister of the environment Nicolas Hulot has detailed a plan to the Financial Times for the country that includes ending the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars by 2040. The effective ban will be achieved through a mix of financial incentives for alternative fuel vehicles, and increased taxes on older, internal combustion cars.

France’s environmental plan also includes instituting a carbon tax, and ending the issuance of new licenses for discovering new local sources of oil. They’ll also incentivize renewable energy creation, according to Engadget, which should help make sure that EVs are powered by a grid that itself is mostly stocked by green energy sources, for a cleaner power picture at the macro level.

Like London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan to make transport in the city totally emission free by 2050, this is a plan at this stage, not anything binding. But France’s government has the power to back it up with legislation given time, so during this administration at least, expect these plans to start resulting in some action.