“No to atom and gas”. Under this title, environmental and other organizations represented in Germany have jointly drawn up an appeal against the EU Commission’s proposal for a taxonomy regulation. They are looking for as many supporters as possible on the Campact platform by January 11th, when the appeal should be handed over to the German government.
The campaign is supported by the Bund für Umwelt- und Naturschutz (BUND), Deutsche Umwelthilfe, the citizens’ movement Finanzwende, Greenpeace, the International Doctors for Avoiding Nuclear War (IPPNW), NABU, the Environmental Institute and the Uranium Network. They call on the government to prevent the EU Commission’s taxonomy plans and, if necessary, to sue the European Court of Justice.
The EU Commission’s project, which became known on New Year’s Eve, threatens the energy transition and massively endangers Europe’s climate protection, say the organizations. Investments would be made in this way instead of in renewable energies and CO2-free options diverted to fossil and nuclear technology. The basic idea of the taxonomy of offering a kind of sustainability label is undermined. “If climate-damaging and high-risk energy sources are also considered sustainable, the entire label will be devalued – that would have a fatal international signal effect,” summarizes the alliance.
So far 20,000 signatures
So far, almost 20,000 signatures have gathered for the organizations’ Campact campaign. It is not the only collection of signatures against the taxonomy plan of the EU Commission, at the BUND there have been a good 8,000 signatories so far, the Greens in the European Parliament have so far collected a good 100,000 signatures.
Luisa Neubauer, who is at the forefront of Fridays for Future, has also called on the German government to reject the EU Commission’s plans for a green label for nuclear and gas-fired power plants. In 2019, her co-activist Greta Thunberg described nuclear power as far too dangerous, too expensive and too time-consuming and added that she was personally against nuclear energy, but referred to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which saw nuclear power as an option in the fight against climate change.
Climate protectors in Germany who advocate nuclear power, such as the Nuklearia association, largely welcome the EU Commission’s draft taxonomy. However, they say natural gas should have been left out. IPPNW sees in Nuklearia a lobby group disguised as a citizens’ initiative that spreads false claims about nuclear power (PDF).
(anw)