Green label for nuclear power and gas?

EU advisor appalled

Created: 01/18/2022, 12:05 p.m

Nuclear power as green energy?

That is what the EU Commission is planning.

But experts oppose this idea.

© Stefan Puchner/dpa

The EU Commission is considering classifying nuclear power and gas as sustainable forms of energy.

This causes heated discussions.

Brussels – Advisors to the European Union for assessing the sustainability of forms of energy are concerned about a draft according to which gas and nuclear power can also be considered environmentally friendly*.

Expert group chair Nathan Fabian said Monday some advisers warned the draft risked failing to provide clarity on the environmental impact of investments.

The criteria laid down in the so-called taxonomy should help ensure that private investments flow more into renewable energies.

EU expert: Nuclear power plant assessment Environmental friendliness of nuclear reactors cannot be guaranteed

The new criteria are not suitable for sustainable financial products, Fabian told the Reuters news agency.

He warned the draft relied too heavily on promises of sustainable use in the future rather than assessing impacts today.

In the case of nuclear power plants*, the question also arises as to how the environmental friendliness of a reactor can now be guaranteed if the obligation to dispose of nuclear waste does not come into force until 2050.

The EU Commission has sent out a proposal for the taxonomy, on which the 27 EU governments are to comment.

She distinguished between green technologies such as solar and wind energy and those for nuclear and gas.

There should be requirements for the classification for these two areas.

Nuclear power: Federal government criticizes EU Commission draft

Accordingly, investments in nuclear power plants are to be considered sustainable if they ensure the disposal of radioactive waste and are approved before 2045.

The federal government had criticized the draft * and stated that it was wrong to label nuclear energy as sustainable.

According to a survey, the citizens of Germany are also not really enthusiastic about the plans of the EU Commission.

According to the ZDF "Politbarometer", 74 percent of respondents reject the classification of nuclear power plants as climate-neutral, only 22 percent are in favor.

A majority also agrees that the remaining nuclear power plants in Germany will be shut down by the end of this year.

54 percent agree with this, 40 percent of those surveyed think it is wrong.