France's new environment minister has announced that the country will ban all petrol and diesel cars by 2040.
Nicolas Hulot, Emmanuel Macron's new environment minister, made the announcement as the country aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, reports the Independent.
It's an interesting move considering France is the home of car manufacturers Peugeot and Citroen, but the minister did state that the firms are currently working on projects which can help meet the target.
In a press conference, Hulot said: "We announce the end of the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040."
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He recognised that the move was along the same lines of Swedish manufacturer, Volvo, who announced on Wednesday that they would only sell electric or hybrid cars by 2019.
Hulot's plan will see households receive financial assistance to swap their polluting cars for cleaner alternatives.
The country will also look to stop using coal to produce electricity by 2022, with four billion euros of investment to help boost energy efficiency.
"We want to demonstrate that fighting against climate change can lead to an improvement of French people's daily lives," Hulot said as the country looks to continue its 'leadership' in climate policy.
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Both the Netherlands and Norway have a similar goal for 2025, while Germany and India plan to do the same but by 2030.
The initiatives are not in line with Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement last month.
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The president announced the decision in June, claiming the agreement would cost the US 6.5 million jobs and $3 trillion in lost GDP.
Many were quick to criticise Trump, including his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Obama said in a recent speech: "The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created."
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Amongst Hulot's other missions include a ban on the imports on palm oil and unsustainable soya - with both contributing to deforestation across the world.
The former journalist and wildlife TV presenter said deforestation represented 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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'Citizen panels' will be established to debate the practical ways in which France can meet its commitment under the Paris climate agreement.
The CEO of ClientEarth, a group of activist lawyers, James Thornton said: "This is a huge statement of intent from the French government and an example of how we're likely to see exponential change in the coming years as governments grapple with the necessary changes we have to make for air quality and our climate.
"These moves should be heeded by other governments and industry, who ned to act to protect us from air pollution in our towns and cities and help mitigate climate change."
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Source: The Independent
Topics: Pollution, climate change, France