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France Plans to Close all Coal Power Plants within Two Years
French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for his country to commit to closing all coal power plants within two years. The plan, originally proposed by Macron's predecessor François Hollande, aimed to remove coal from the European country's power mix by 2023 - now revised to 2021.With only one percent of the country's energy coming from coal production, the announcement of the new government was seen as symbolic. Still, the message it sends is clear: France is increasingly hostile to the environment and wants to take the lead in fighting climate change.
Many other countries are also taking steps to phase out coal. China, now the world's largest greenhouse emitter, canceled work on just 104 coal-fired power plant construction sites last year, and several governments have joined in a joint commitment to completely eliminate fossil fuels from their energy mix by 2030. The EU as a whole has also doubled its coal elimination efforts.
There is also solid economic reasoning behind this drive. The price of renewable energy has been falling steadily over the past few years, and coal is no longer cost-effective for many communities. This is especially true for rich countries, which can afford to subsidize some of the costs associated with renewable energy. And, as technology advances and efficiency increases, renewable energy will become more affordable than fossil fuels across the board.
So, no matter how you look at it, going green makes a lot of sense.
While France is poised to lead the region, combating climate change will require more than the action of one country or continent.
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