PARIS (Alliance News) - French lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill aimed a reducing the reliance on nuclear power in favour of greener sources of energy.

The Socialist majority in the lower house of parliament approved the bill, which seeks to cut the share of nuclear power in the energy mix from 75% to 50% in 10 years. It also aims at bringing CO2 emissions by 2050 to 75% less than their 1990 levels.

The government wants to raise the share of renewable energy to 40% by 2030 and reduce energy consumption by 50% by 2050.

The Conservative opposition says the goals are unrealistic and warns that energy prices would rise, hurting both households and industry.

New measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include encouraging people to ditch their old diesel cars for electric vehicles. Those who subscribe to the scheme receive 10,000 euros (10,900 dollars) from the government.

France has 58 nuclear reactors at 19 power stations. Some 20 reactors must be shut down under the new plan.

A UN-sponsored conference on climate change takes place in Paris in December.

Copyright dpa