Germany cries foul over nuclear energy in EU’s green investment rule book

By Michael Nienaber

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition authorities has voiced its objections to a European Union draft plan to label nuclear energy crops as a sustainable vitality supply in a proper letter to Brussels, ministers mentioned on Saturday.

The EU taxonomy goals to set a gold customary for inexperienced investments, serving to climate-friendly tasks to drag in non-public capital and stamping out “greenwashing”, the place traders and corporations overstate their eco-credentials.

“Because the federal authorities, we’ve got as soon as once more clearly expressed our rejection of the inclusion of nuclear vitality. It’s dangerous and costly,” Vice Chancellor and Financial system Minister Robert Habeck mentioned in a joint assertion with Setting Minister Steffi Lemke, each senior members of the Greens social gathering.

In its letter to Brussels, revealed by the Financial system Ministry on its net web page, the German authorities additionally pointed to the shortage of any security necessities relating to nuclear energy crops.

“Severe accidents with massive, cross-border and long-term hazards to people and the surroundings can’t be excluded,” Berlin mentioned in its letter, including that the query of the place to retailer radioactive waste in the long run was nonetheless unanswered.

The EU guidelines have been lengthy delayed, with nations cut up over whether or not nuclear vitality and pure gasoline deserve a inexperienced badge. Austria has already mentioned it could take authorized motion if the European Fee proceeds with its draft plan to label each as sustainable investments.

The German authorities mentioned in its letter it supported a brief inexperienced label for pure gasoline as a bridge resolution on the bloc’s path to local weather neutrality.

“Gasoline-fired energy crops can facilitate the speedy transition to renewable energies and the discount of emissions within the vitality sector as a complete,” it mentioned.

Throughout months of debate on the proposals, Germany and different EU member states argued that gasoline investments had been wanted to assist them stop more-polluting coal. Others mentioned labelling a fossil gasoline as inexperienced would undermine the credibility of the EU because it seeks to be a world chief in tackling local weather change.

Emissions-free nuclear vitality is equally divisive. France, the Czech Republic and Poland are amongst these saying that nuclear energy ought to have a giant function in curbing world warming. Austria, Germany and Luxembourg are amongst these opposed.

The Fee hopes to undertake a remaining textual content by the top of the month.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Modifying by Alex Richardson)