Macron Rules Out Gas Boiler Ban

Written by Henry Samuel on September 29, 2023. Posted in Current News

Emmanuel Macron on Monday ruled out banning gas boilers as he outlined plans to reach France’s emission goals without imposing too much of a burden on citizens

The French president defended what he called “an ecology based on progress”, which did not require “a cure that is incompatible with a productive and social model such as ours”.

His pledge for a pain-free, supply-side green transition came days after Rishi Sunak announced that he would delay the transition away from petrol cars and gas boilers, watering down net zero climate goals that he said imposed “unacceptable costs” on ordinary people.

Mr. Macron said that France would end all coal use in 2027 and cut the use of ‘fossil fuels’ from 60 percent to 40 percent in that time, without providing details. However, he ruled out banning gas boilers in residential buildings.

“We will not prohibit” the installation of new gas boilers, he said, “because we cannot leave our compatriots, particularly in the most rural areas, without a solution,” said Mr. Macron.

Mr. Sunak pushed back the ban on purchases of new gas boilers to 2035.

The French “love their car, and I do too” said Mr. Macron on Sunday in a prime-time TV interview, acknowledging public reluctance to switch to electric vehicles with higher purchase prices than combustion-engine cars.

“We must do that in a smart way: that is, by producing vehicles and batteries at home,” he said.

The president has been vocal in supporting the construction of four battery gigafactories in northern France to counter Chinese and American competition.

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Header image: Reuters

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