Released June 27, 2022 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Europe has rejected controversial plans to include gas and nuclear power in its list of "green investments" in an effort to accelerate Europe's shift toward renewable energy.
Originally proposed by the European Commission (EC) in February this year, it would have allowed certain gas and nuclear power projects to be included in the European Union's (EU's) taxonomy of "environmentally sustainable economic activities." These are classed as those that make a substantial contribution to at least one environmental objective of the EU's climate policy while avoiding major harm to any of the other five. However, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in two key committees voted to reject the proposal by 76 votes to 62 votes. The proposal is not yet completely dead in the water as there will be a final vote across the full House in early July.
"MEPs recognise the role of nuclear and fossil gas in guaranteeing stable energy supply during the transition to a sustainable economy," committee members stated. "But, they consider that the technical screening standards proposed by the Commission, in its delegated regulation, to support their inclusion do not respect the criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities as set out in Article 3 of the Taxonomy Regulation."
Sama Bilbao y León, director general of the World Nuclear Association, called on the Parliament to include nuclear power next month: "The European Parliament must act pragmatically at its plenary session next month and include nuclear in the EU taxonomy to support energy sustainability, affordability, and security. Denying affordable finance to nuclear would result in higher energy bills for all Europeans."
Those activities already included in the EU taxonomy and which benefit from green investment status include wind energy, solar energy, geothermal, hydrogen, hydropower and bioenergy. The Commission argued that gas and nuclear could be used as a temporary bridge to help the EU speed up its transition from coal to renewables and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. If the wider EU community overrules the objections in the July vote then nuclear projects could be deemed green as long as they have a plan and funding in place to safely dispose of radioactive waste. They must also receive planning permission before 2045. Gas projects could be deemed green on a number of grounds, including producing emissions below 270 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour, replacing a more polluting fossil-fuel plant, and having a construction permit in place before the end of 2030.
Europe is split over its support of nuclear power, with a growing number of nations, including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and others, phasing it out. However, there is strong support for nuclear power's inclusion in the taxonomy from France, which relies on it for 70% of its power, along with Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Romania, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. In October, those 10 EU member states submitted an open letter to the EU calling for nuclear power to be included alongside renewables in the transition away from fossil fuel-based energy. For additional information, see October 26, 2021, article--Europe Faces New Split Over Nuclear Power.
Industrial Info is tracking 56 active nuclear plants in Europe and more than 250 projects worth US$280 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the project reports.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
Originally proposed by the European Commission (EC) in February this year, it would have allowed certain gas and nuclear power projects to be included in the European Union's (EU's) taxonomy of "environmentally sustainable economic activities." These are classed as those that make a substantial contribution to at least one environmental objective of the EU's climate policy while avoiding major harm to any of the other five. However, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in two key committees voted to reject the proposal by 76 votes to 62 votes. The proposal is not yet completely dead in the water as there will be a final vote across the full House in early July.
"MEPs recognise the role of nuclear and fossil gas in guaranteeing stable energy supply during the transition to a sustainable economy," committee members stated. "But, they consider that the technical screening standards proposed by the Commission, in its delegated regulation, to support their inclusion do not respect the criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities as set out in Article 3 of the Taxonomy Regulation."
Sama Bilbao y León, director general of the World Nuclear Association, called on the Parliament to include nuclear power next month: "The European Parliament must act pragmatically at its plenary session next month and include nuclear in the EU taxonomy to support energy sustainability, affordability, and security. Denying affordable finance to nuclear would result in higher energy bills for all Europeans."
Those activities already included in the EU taxonomy and which benefit from green investment status include wind energy, solar energy, geothermal, hydrogen, hydropower and bioenergy. The Commission argued that gas and nuclear could be used as a temporary bridge to help the EU speed up its transition from coal to renewables and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. If the wider EU community overrules the objections in the July vote then nuclear projects could be deemed green as long as they have a plan and funding in place to safely dispose of radioactive waste. They must also receive planning permission before 2045. Gas projects could be deemed green on a number of grounds, including producing emissions below 270 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour, replacing a more polluting fossil-fuel plant, and having a construction permit in place before the end of 2030.
Europe is split over its support of nuclear power, with a growing number of nations, including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and others, phasing it out. However, there is strong support for nuclear power's inclusion in the taxonomy from France, which relies on it for 70% of its power, along with Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Romania, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. In October, those 10 EU member states submitted an open letter to the EU calling for nuclear power to be included alongside renewables in the transition away from fossil fuel-based energy. For additional information, see October 26, 2021, article--Europe Faces New Split Over Nuclear Power.
Industrial Info is tracking 56 active nuclear plants in Europe and more than 250 projects worth US$280 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the project reports.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
