Sian Crampsie
The French government has announced plans to introduce a carbon price floor for electricity producers.
An announcement by the Ministry for Environment outlined plans for the introduction of a domestic price floor for power generators from January 2017, a move that is calculated to drive utilities to replace coal plant with natural gas.
Details of the scheme will be announced in the autumn, the Ministry said. It hopes the move will encourage actions across Europe to fix the region’s emissions trading systems, as well as drive investment in clean energy technology.
It also confirmed an announcement by French President Francois Hollande that the country would seek to close some of its nuclear reactors from 2018.
France will be Europe’s second country to introduce a floor price for carbon, following the UK’s introduction of a scheme in 2013.
