04.07.2022
Climate Alliance calls for veto of decision about nuclear power and fossil gas as sustainable investments
Climate Alliance has personally called on numerous MEPs from various political parties to vote against the EU Commission's draft to classify nuclear power and fossil gas as sustainable investments in the climate taxonomy on 6 July 2022. The network thus joins the calls of many other civil society organisations as well as the two EU technical committees (ENVI and ECON) to reject the delegated act to include nuclear power and fossil gas in the EU taxonomy.
The reasons for this include:
- The classification of natural gas as sustainable is neither scientifically tenable nor in line with the EU's climate goals: large quantities of climate-damaging greenhouse gases are emitted along its extraction, transport and use. If humanity wants to achieve the Paris climate goals, no new investments in fossil energies should be made.
- The classification of nuclear power as sustainable is also scientifically untenable. Even the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) opposes the aforementioned delegated act in an expert opinion. Moreover, the construction of new nuclear power plants cannot be done in time to help Europe reduce its greenhouse gases.
- The German environmental aid organisation Deutsche Umwelthilfe has provided a legal opinion proving that the inclusion of nuclear and fossil gas in the EU taxonomy would be unlawful.
- Greenpeace France already published a report in May showing the lobbying links between Russian energy companies and the EU Commission in connection with the taxonomy. According to the report, Russia could earn an additional four billion euros a year through the changes to the taxonomy.The greenwashing of fossil gas and nuclear power has the potential to undermine the credibility and effectiveness of the entire EU taxonomy and weaken trust in the European Union.
- Every euro invested in fossil gas and nuclear power is missing for investments in the urgently needed energy transition.
The EU Parliament's debate on the EU Commission's proposal will take place on 5 July and the vote on 6 July.
Read more
- BASE assessment of the EU Commission's proposal on the classification of nuclear energy according to the EU Taxonomy Regulation (in German)
- Legal opinion of Deutsche Umwelthilfe (in German)
- Greenpeace France report on lobbying links between Russian energy companies and the EU Commission
