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France to ban all new oil and gas exploration in renewable energy drive

The Independent
Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden Saturday 24 June 2017 12:55 BST

Above a Tullow Oil company offshore oil platform off the coasts of the French overseas department of Guiana  | AFP/Getty Images

via France to ban all new oil and gas exploration in renewable energy drive | The Independent

Excerpt

France is to stop granting licenses for oil and gas exploration as part of a transition towards environmentally-friendly energy being driven by Emmanuel Macron’s government.

Nicolas Hulot, the “ecological transition” minister said a law would be passed in the autumn.

“There will be no new exploration licenses for hydrocarbons,” he told BFMTV.

nicolas-hulot
French Minister of Ecological and Social Transition Nicolas Hulot leaves the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 22, 2017. (Reuters)

The minister, previously famed in France for his environmental activism and nature documentaries, also outlined proposals to increase the taxation on diesel and to “make decisions faster” tocurtail pollution.

Mr Macron said he was opposed to exploration for gas and favoured a ban on fracking during his election campaign, particularly in the overseas territory of French Guiana.