America has withdrawn from the Paris accord but France is serious about Global warming and is committed to working towards eliminating the ill effects of climate change. It wants to implement the provisions of the Paris accord and is keen to put an end to the sale of vehicles powered by fossil fuels. It has set a timeframe of 2040 to achieve this. Beyond that date, vehicles sold will have to belong to the category of non-conventional energy like electricity or other cleaner power and hybrid cars will also be permitted.
The French initiative
CNN reports that French President Emmanuel Macron has clear-cut ideas of how to promote the concept of a clean environment.
When President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris accord on climate change, the President of France condemned the decision and seized the opportunity to offer welcome scientists, engineers, and citizens of America to come over to France. He said that they could join forces and formulate concrete solutions to tackle global warming and associated climate change.
The French initiative to phase out conventional vehicles that rely solely on the combustion engine has come soon after one of their key car manufacturers in Volvo said that every car it makes from 2019 onward will have an electric motor. This will be the first traditional carmaker who would have gone in for total electric and hybrid production.
Efforts of France to embrace change
The government of France has drawn up programs to reach its goal and one of the measures on the table is to extend support to develop alternative fuels like electricity and hydrogen in order to contain global warming. This is an issue that cannot be ignored because it could spell disaster for the whole world through the rise in sea levels that could cause floods, landslides, and loss of lives and property.
Moreover, the rise in temperatures would lead to drying up of sources of water and drought.
France is also toying with the idea of offering financial incentives for charging electric cars. Another idea is to introduce a scheme by which owners can surrender their old polluting vehicles and get a cleaner one. It has not yet finalized the scheme or provided details about it but the objective is clear – it wants to influence automobile manufacturers to try out new ideas and become market leaders.
The need of the hour is a revolution in thinking and the Paris accord on climate change must be taken seriously.
The number of cars sold last year was in the region of two million and, out of that, the share of cars powered by alternative fuels was barely 4%. That percent had gone up to nearly 25% in the first quarter of 2017. This is an indicator that the concept is gaining ground and is a positive sign, especially in the future when self-driving cars would enter the market in a big way.
