French President Emmanuel Macron declared on September 24 that his country will completely abandon coal-fired power generation by 2027.

The country will hit the target by converting its last two coal plants, in a bid to promote ecological transition and achieve emission reduction targets, Macron explained.

France currently operates two coal-fired power plants, located in the western city of Cordemais and the eastern city of Saint-Avold. These plants will undergo complete conversion into biomass energy facilities.

For Cordemais, an ecological transition project is already underway. The Saint-Avold plant was shut down at the beginning of 2022, but was restarted last winter to ensure energy supplies in the context of energy tensions in the country and in Europe.

President Macron further outlined France's commitment to prioritizing ecological transformation during the process of "reindustrialization," including initiatives to promote the domestic production of electric vehicles.

France has relied heavily on nuclear energy for electricity generation, with a relatively low proportion of coal-generated power. According to data released by the French grid operator RTE for 2022, nuclear energy accounted for 63% of the total electricity generated that year, despite some nuclear reactors being temporarily shut down for maintenance. In contrast, coal-fired power represented a mere 0.6% of the total electricity generation during the same period.

Macron is set to present his plans to cut France's CO2 emissions by 2030.

In line with the European Union's "Fit for 55" emission reduction plan, France is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

(Writing by Alex Guo  Editing by Harry Huo)
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