EU Puts Nuclear and Gas Plants on “Sustainable” Investment List

The European Commission presented a long-delayed proposal on Wednesday, February 2, which calls for natural gas and nuclear energy on the list of “sustainable” energy. The College of Commissioners has reached a political agreement on the text, formally adopted as soon as its translations are available in all EU languages.

This appears to be like the EC is giving up on green energy under the pressure of the richest European states.

Europe’s plan triggers backlash from climate campaigners

The intention to place these energy sources on the EU green list could open the door to plenty of new nuclear and gas projects. Still, the Commission’s plan has enraged environmentalists and could be stopped in the European Parliament, where lawmakers are split on the subject.

Is the EU giving up its plan to switch to green energy?

After more than a year of discussions, the EU Commissioner for Financial Services presented the idea to journalists, dismissing concerns that the EU was abandoning the transition to “green” energy but noting that the concept was “imperfect.”

I think we’ve found a balance between fundamentally different opinions. The goal is a low-carbon future powered by renewable energy. We cannot yet do that.

Mairead McGuinness

Only four countries, Spain, Austria, Denmark, and Luxembourg have publicly expressed objection to both natural gas and nuclear energy being included on the “green” list, but this is unlikely to influence the outcome since most Member States, including Germany and France, have supported at least one of the two sources of energy to be mentioned on the list.