Wednesday 18 December 2019

EU backs nuclear power on journey to net zero

EU heads of state and government have agreed nuclear energy will be recognized as a way to fight climate change.

The proposal had split EU states, with heavy coal using countries pushing hard for the commitment while other countries, including Germany, Austria and Luxembourg were sceptical and needed last minute convincing.

The concessions on nuclear energy were enough for the Czech Republic and Hungary to give their approval. The two nations had the support of France, which relies on nuclear power for 60% of its electricity. "Nuclear energy is clean energy," Czech Prime minister Andrej Babis said. "I don't know why people have a problem with this."

Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini insisted the EU would be unable to reach its climate targets without nuclear power plants.

Poland, one of the bloc's biggest emitters that relies heavily on coal for its electricity production, was the sole holdout on the deal set out by new EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in her ´European Green Deal".

In its final memorandum, the European Council "acknowledged the need to ensure energy security and to respect the right of the member states to decide on their energy mix and to choose the most appropriate technologies. Some member states have indicated that they use nuclear energy as part of their national energy mix."

That line reassured countries expected to suffer the most during the transition that future nuclear power projects would be eligible for the billions in euros that will be made available as part of von der Leyen's plan.