French lawmakers have rejected a draft bill on national energy and climate policy that would have imposed a ban on renewable energy developments until 2035.
The first reading of the bill in the National Assembly last week approved a series of amendments from far-right parties including the complete transformation of the energy system to focus solely on nuclear energy, the elimination of biofuel development targets and a moratorium on solar and wind power.
The latter amendment, introduced by Jerome Nury (pictured), a Republican Member of the Parliament, said a moratorium was needed “for the time necessary to conduct an independent, in-depth, and objective study aimed at determining the optimal energy mix for France, from both an economic and environmental perspective”. Projects that have already been authorised would not be affected.
However, the parliament rejected the bill by 377 votes to 142.
The Republican Party believes the roll-out of renewables in France has caused a 100% hike in the price of electricity, deterioration of the living conditions of rural and coastal populations and a financial burden on the state.
French renewable energy trade association SER said the amendments had transformed the “proposed energy planning law into a bill of energy irresponsibility”. It urged MPs in the Senate vote today to reject the bill.
Jules Nyssen, President of SER, said: “The text threatens to wipe out with a stroke of the pen the 160,000 people who currently work in the renewable energy sector in France, in all regions, particularly rural areas, within a large number of SMEs and mid-cap companies.
“In the name of our country’s energy security, its competitiveness and credibility, all the jobs in the energy transition, and the future of generations to come, we solemnly call on MPs, this time, to mobilise strongly to reject this incoherent text that shames France.”