France has announced it will shut down all coal-fired power plants by 2021, solidifying the country’s stance in the fight against climate change.

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, accelerated the timetable for the phase-out by two years – his predecessor, Francois Hollande, originally set the deadline for shifting to cleaner sources of generation by 2023.

Only around 1% of the nation’s power is currently generated by coal, according to RTE, the French transmission system operator.

As well as providing a symbolic move away from fossil fuels, it is also expected to help improve France’s economy by removing negative externalities such as the cost of pollution and harm to health.

As the price of renewable energy steadily drops, more and more nations around the world are saying they will phase out coal in the next decade.

The UK has vowed to phase-out unabated use of the polluting fuel source by 2025.