Monday, December 20, 2021
Classification as sustainable
Greens poke at Brussels’s nuclear revision
The EU Commission is discussing classifying nuclear power as a “sustainable form of energy”. From Germany, Brussels has to adjust to massive headwinds. Climate Minister Habeck and Environment Minister Lemke have nothing positive to say about the idea.
Federal Ministers of the Greens have reiterated their opposition to the EU Commission considering the classification of nuclear power as a “sustainable” form of energy generation. “I don’t think nuclear power is the right technology,” said Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck to Deutschlandfunk. Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said in Brussels that she saw “no added value from nuclear power on the way to climate neutrality”.
The classification is part of the new taxonomy planned by the Commission for sustainable forms of energy. This should actually be presented in December; According to EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, the presentation of the list of “green” investments has now been postponed until mid-January. “I hope that we can then submit our final proposal in mid-January,” said Breton of “Welt am Sonntag”. In addition to nuclear power, this also involves classifying gas as a climate-friendly transition technology. That is also controversial.
“Doesn’t advance climate protection”
Habeck and Lemke strictly rejected a renaissance of nuclear power in the EU. It will now be very important “that the Commission proposes the right thing,” said the Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate. “I can say that the German government’s stance that nuclear power is not one of the sustainable forms of energy remains,” emphasized Lemke before the EU environment ministers held consultations in Brussels. The taxonomy was not officially on the agenda there, but Lemke spoke of “intensive discussions on this at various levels” and with open results.
“I do not see at all how the classification of nuclear power as a sustainable form of energy use should advance climate protection,” said the Federal Environment Minister. She also referred to the difficult search for a final repository for nuclear waste in Germany, which “shows how problematic the use of nuclear power is”. In addition, unlike in some cases shown, it is associated with a “high expenditure of resources”.