France Will Ban the Sale of Cars That Use Gasoline or Diesel by 2040

France is on track to ban the sale of cars that use gasoline or diesel fuel by 2040. The news was announced Tuesday by France’s environment minister, Nicolas Hulot, and is part of the country’s plan to meet its climate target under the Paris accord.

The Guardian reports:

The announcement comes a day after Volvo said it would only make fully electric or hybrid cars from 2019 onwards, a decision hailed as the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine’s dominance of motor transport after more than a century.

Nicolas Hulot, the country’s new ecology minister, said: “We are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.” Hulot added that the move was a “veritable revolution”.

He said it would be a “tough” objective for carmakers but France’s industry was well equipped to make the switch. “Our [car]makers have enough ideas in the drawer to nurture and bring about this promise … which is also a public health issue.”

Hulot insisted that the decision was a question of public health policy and “a way to fight against air pollution”. The veteran environmental campaigner was among several political newcomers to whom Macron gave top jobs in his government.

Read more here.

—Posted by Emma Niles