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Nuclear power in the country: Chooz power station in the Ardennes in north-eastern France
Photo:
Hocquart C / Andia.fr / imago images / Andia
On the day on which three of the last six remaining nuclear power plants in Germany were shut down for good as planned, the EU Commission announced that it would also classify nuclear energy as climate-friendly.
This New Year's Eve proposal is causing increasing unrest in Berlin: The left in the Bundestag is demanding that the federal government take legal action against the EU plans together with Austria.
"Germany should support Austria's legal action against the classification of nuclear power as sustainable and climate-friendly," demanded the group's Europe expert, Andrej Hunko, in a statement.
"A simple non-approval in the EU Council is not enough and would de facto wave through the Commission's proposal because a qualified majority is necessary there, which is currently not achievable."
EU Parliament can refuse
The day before, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck had said: "We do not see any approval of the new proposals of the EU Commission."
He spoke of greenwashing.
According to the initiative of the EU Commission, investments in new nuclear power plants should be classified as green if the systems meet the latest technical standards and a specific plan for the final storage of radioactive waste from 2050 is presented.
Investments in new gas-fired power plants should also be able to be classified as green temporarily under strict conditions.
Austria's Green Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler had announced: "If these plans are implemented in this way, we will sue."
Left-wing politician Hunko said: “This Commission proposal must be stopped.
The EU Parliament can reject this with a simple majority, but the Federal Government should support the Austrian legal action with all its might. "
SPD parliamentary deputy Miersch warns of distortion of competition
The deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch also turned against the proposal: "Germany should exhaust all possibilities to prevent this technology from being promoted at European level." Nuclear power is not sustainable and absolutely uneconomical, said Miersch.
Unfortunately, parts of the climate movement are also far too uncritical towards this technology.
"New nuclear power plant projects cannot be financed at all without massive subsidies." This also applies to the follow-up costs of final storage.
The future must belong to renewables, said Miersch.
»If nuclear power were to be subsidized alongside CO2 pricing, the result would be a massive distortion of competition.
Rather, we need a debate on the analogous pricing of nuclear power. "
The environmental protection organization WWF also criticized the move.
"Close your eyes and through, that seems to be the motto of the EU Commission for nuclear power and natural gas," said Matthias Kopp, Head of Sustainable Finance at WWF Germany.
In addition to nuclear power, according to the proposal of the EU Commission, investments in new gas-fired power plants should also be temporarily classified as green, especially at Germany's request.
Kopp also criticized the process behind the classification.
Scientists, citizens and financial institutions would be excluded.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is gambling away trust with the procedure and thus jeopardizing her own “Green Deal” for sustainable growth in the European Union.
apr / dpa