Nuclear energy and natural gas will remain viewed as environmentally sustainable investments European Union After Wednesday’s court ruling, it is possible to drive large amounts of financing to projects that are not widely considered “green”.
Austria has sued the Commission for Europe, the chief executive of which includes gas and nuclear EU Classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities. The system helps invest directly into projects that are most needed to reduce the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday the committee’s support, dismissing the lawsuit in Austria.
Nuclear power is a carbon-free source of electricity, but is not usually labeled as green energy sources such as solar, wind, and other renewable sources. Generating power in this way requires mining and processing of uranium to create nuclear fuel, an energy-intensive process that generates emissions.
Nuclear reactors produce radioactive waste and pose a risk of accidents. Natural or fossil gases emit less carbon than coal, but they still warm the earth to generate electricity when burned.
The committee said the court confirmed the legality of sustainability standards. European companies are increasingly using classification systems to plan their green investments, totaling billions of euros, the commission said.
this European Union By 2050, its goal is to be “climate-neutral”, and this economy produces no more greenhouse gases than they can be taken from the atmosphere. The European Parliament and the European Council have established a framework in 2020 to help invest in ways that mitigate or adapt to climate change.
In 2022, the European Commission passed a regulation that included certain activities in the nuclear and fossil gas sector to accelerate progress to a climate-neutral transition. This is a way of how countries have different energy combinations and are at a different starting point in deploying renewable energy at scale.
Austria attempts to cancel the regulation. Leonore Gewessler filed a lawsuit when she served as Austrian environment minister in 2022 because she said the regulation “opens the door to greening of climate hazards and hazardous technologies.” Austria has no operating nuclear power plants.
Luxembourg supports Austria’s case. The Committee was supported by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The court ruled that the committee did not exceed its power by including nuclear energy and natural gas. The court endorsed the view that under certain conditions, economic activities in the nuclear and gas sectors could make a significant contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The European Association for Nuclear Training and Development, based in Brussels, said that in the taxonomy, it could help encourage private investment in nuclear projects.
Now, the Austrian Green Party’s parliamentary leader, Gewesler, called on the Austrian government to appeal. She said a lot of money was under threat and this should be trapped in safe renewable energy rather than risky and expensive reactors.
“This ruling sends a disastrous signal to the whole person EU,” Gwesler said in a statement Wednesday: “If this decision is made, it undermines a fundamental principle: it says green, it is no longer true green. Those seeking green investments may end up supporting nuclear power or dirty gas. ”
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AP writer Sam McNeil provides this report for Brussels.
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