France Unveils Fossil Fuel Phase-Out Plan at Global Summit
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France has unveiled what analysts are calling a landmark “first of its kind” plan to phase out all fossil fuels from its economy by 2050, setting hard deadlines for coal, oil, and natural gas at a global conference on energy transition.
By TRH World Desk
New Delhi, April 29, 2026 — France announced a “first of its kind” plan to phase out coal by 2030, oil by 2045, and gas by 2050 during a global conference aimed at breaking reliance on planet-heating fossil fuels.
The “roadmap” was published as dozens of nations gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia, for the first-ever international talks on how to transition away from fossil fuels — a conference co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, and taking place outside the formal UN process.
France’s roadmap does not present new pledges but brings existing climate and energy policies and targets under one umbrella with an explicit goal. Analysts said no other country had published such a clear and comprehensive plan, and that it sent an important signal at a moment when countries are reassessing their reliance on fossil fuels.
France’s envoy to the conference, Benoît Faraco, hailed the plan’s ambition. “That’s quite original, because we are probably one of the rarest countries who have a clear deadline for all fossil fuel energy,” he told reporters in Santa Marta.
Faraco said the roadmap committed to phasing out fossil fuel production, electrifying sectors like heating and transport, and helping finance the transition in other countries. It formalises France’s existing targets for reducing greenhouse gas pollution — namely to reduce emissions by five percent a year over the 2024–2028 period, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
France only generates a fraction of its electricity from hydrocarbons, thanks to its extensive nuclear power generation — giving it a structural advantage over most other nations in pursuing such an aggressive fossil fuel exit.
The strategy also aims to boost electricity’s share of energy consumption to 55% by 2050, up from 37% in 2023, largely through renewables. The government hopes 15% of cars will be electric by 2030, and envisions airplanes as the only mode of transport still emitting CO₂ in France by 2050.
Nearly 60 nations are attending the Santa Marta conference, from the EU and major fossil fuel producers Canada and Norway, to developing oil giants Angola and Nigeria and small island developing states like Tuvalu. Nations are not expected to produce any binding commitments, but rather a set of proposals for countries wanting to move their economies away from fossil fuel reliance.
The conference takes place against a backdrop of soaring fuel prices and a global supply crunch stemming from the Iran war, with energy security emerging as a prominent theme.
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