Macron vows to end fossil fuels use in France if re-elected

Bloomberg

President Emmanuel Macron vowed to end the use of fossil fuels in France if re-elected, eight days before he faces far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off election.
Speaking at a campaign rally in the southern city of Marseille, Macron said he would appoint a minister of energy planning whose mission “would be to make France the first great nation to exit oil, gas and coal.”
It’s an open question whether Macron could achieve full reliance on renewable energy in the span of a next term, which lasts five years. He didn’t estimate how long such a transition would take.
But in his appeal to voters concerned about the environment, he laid out an ambitious goal as well as the commitment to upgrading the management of the transition from carbon. He stressed that the French economy, if driven by nuclear, solar and wind energy, would be more ecologically friendly.
Macron sought to draw a distinction with Le Pen, who says she doesn’t want France to be part of the European Commission’s proposed Green Deal, which seeks to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions by 2030.
While pledging to stick to the Paris climate accord, Le Pen wants to halt wind and solar development.