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The European Union (EU) Energy Council, meeting in Luxembourg, have reached agreement on reforming the EU electricity market, resolving the long-running dispute between France and Germany over the role of nuclear power. France has welcomed a decision that nuclear power should be included in future state-supported models, while Germany insisted that this must not lead to unfair competition through publicly funding ageing reactors abroad. The proposal now moves on to the European Parliament, where concessions on nuclear and coal power could still meet opposition.

Date: Friday, 20 October 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsfrance-and-germany-move-towards-resolving-nuclear-differences-11232812

Group ‘disappointed’ that reactors being treated as transitional technology Yves Desbazeille: ‘We remain disappointed that nuclear continues to be treated as a transitional technology’. The European nuclear energy industry has welcomed a decision to include nuclear in the bloc’s sustainable finance taxonomy under certain conditions, but warned that some of the criteria put forward will prove very challenging to attain.

“We remain disappointed that nuclear continues to be treated as a transitional technology,” said Foratom director-general Yves Desbazeille. “We firmly believe that it contributes to climate mitigation objectives and does not cause more harm than any other power-producing technology already considered as taxonomy compliant.”

According to the proposed regulations announced on 2 February, nuclear can be considered as taxonomy compliant as long as it meets several stringent conditions, including:

Date: Saturday, 05 February 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/foratom-welcomes-decision-on-nuclear-but-warns-criteria-could-be-difficult-to-meet-2-4-2022

‘Today we are setting out strict conditions to help mobilise finance to support the energy transition’ The European commission has officially put forward regulations to label nuclear energy as sustainable under its financial taxonomy regulations, ending months of uncertainty and wrangling over whether the industry would have a significant place in the bloc’s transition to zero carbon.

The legislation means nuclear will now be labelled as a “green” energy source that could contribute to Europe’s transition to climate neutrality.

The commission said in a statement that the college of commissioners – a body made up of 27 policy commissioners – reached a political agreement on the text of the new regulations, known as a complementary delegated act, which could now become law on 1 January 2023.

It said a great deal of private investment is needed for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050. The taxonomy aims to guide private investment to activities that are needed to achieve climate neutrality.

The taxonomy does not determine whether a certain technology will or will not be part of a member state’s energy mix. “The objective is to step up the transition, by drawing on all possible solutions to help us reach our climate goals,” the commission said.

Date: Thursday, 03 February 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/commission-officially-puts-forward-legislation-to-include-nuclear-2-3-2022

Advisory body says it ‘would have preferred more time’ to carry out review Existing and new nuclear power plants should not be considered as “taxonomy aligned” on the basis that they do not ensure the principle of “do no significant harm” is met, the European commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance has concluded.

The Platform, an expert group established to help the commission in developing its sustainable finance policies, was asked by the commission on 31 December to provide feedback on the draft complementary delegated act that proposes nuclear energy be included in the bloc’s sustainable finance taxonomy.

In a report released on Monday the Platform said existing nuclear and new nuclear do not ensure no significant harm to the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, or the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

It said, however, that there was only a short time available for review and it would have preferred more time. It said it is willing to support the European commission to develop an approach that could support investments for transitioning energy supply without weakening the taxonomy.

Date: Tuesday, 25 January 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/expert-group-says-nuclear-energy-is-not-taxonomy-aligned-1-1-2022

Brussels-based industry group responds to leaked draft of European commission proposals Nuclear power has been “clearly recognised” as a technology which contributes to climate mitigation objectives and it should be treated in the European Union’s planned taxonomy rules on an equal footing with renewable energy sources, the Brussels-based nuclear industry association Foratom has said.

According to a leaked draft of the bloc’s taxonomy proposals, nuclear will be treated differently to renewables, as a transitional activity, Foratom said. Furthermore, “sunset clauses”, so-called because they have time limits, have been introduced for existing plants and new build projects. Foratom said in a statement on Tuesday: “We do not believe this is the right approach.”

The sunset clauses say that to be taxonomy compliant, nuclear new build projects must receive a construction permit by 2045. For lifetime extensions, the extension must be authorised by the member state by 2040.

Renewables do not have to meet any similar clauses, nor do they have to meet other rules applied to “transitional” nuclear. Those rules include that nuclear does not hamper the development and deployment of low-carbon alternatives and does not lead to a “lock-in” of carbon-intensive assets. Lock-in occurs when carbon intensive systems perpetuate, delay or prevent the transition to low-carbon alternatives.

Date: Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/foratom-calls-for-nuclear-to-be-put-on-equal-footing-with-renewables-1-2-2022

Country to phase out nuclear by end of 2022 Germany is planning to shutter its last remaining nuclear plants at the end of 2022, a policy direction set upon a decade ago in the aftermath of the Fukushima-Daiichi accident of 2011. Image courtesy Flickr / i_aoquadrado. A slight majority of Germans see a future role for nuclear energy in the power mix of the country, which has chosen to phase out nuclear by the end of 2022, according to a new survey by international pollster YouGov.

The survey found that 22% of participants want to see nuclear play a “larger” role in power generation at par with that of renewables, while 31% said Germany should still use some nuclear power, but certainly less in comparison with renewables.

Twenty-eight percent of responders were strictly against nuclear power, while another 12% expressed no defined opinion.

Date: Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Original article: nucnet.org/news/half-of-germans-see-role-for-nuclear-in-new-europe-wide-survey-12-1-2021

Four nations say reactors will help EU reach climate goals Strengthening energy independence and security while decarbonising energy production and keeping energy prices affordable will only be possible through the combined use of nuclear and renewable energy, representatives of the four Visegrad countries said in a joint statement.

János Süli, minister without portfolio responsible for the Paks 2 nuclear project in Hungary, and representatives of the Czech, Polish and Slovak governments signed the joint statement during a visit to the Paks nuclear station.

The statement said the Visegrad Group is committed to the use of nuclear energy because nuclear plants can help the EU reach its climate neutrality goals while strengthening security of supply and providing clean electricity at affordable prices.

The four governments called on Brussels to treat nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source in the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy.

Date: Friday, 19 November 2021
Original article: nucnet.org/news/visegrad-countries-call-on-bloc-to-support-nuclear-energy-11-4-2021

European unions on 27 July reiterated calls for the European Commission (EC) to include nuclear power in its green goals. In a joint letter to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, 18 trade unions in the energy sector from 10 countries said nuclear energy must be included in a delegated act of the European taxonomy. The unions - from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Romania, Sweden, Slovak Republic and Slovenia - called for "a dialogue with the purpose of nuclear energy to play its full potential and build an economically efficient and socially just carbon-free Europe by 2050".

Date: Friday, 30 July 2021
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newseuropean-unions-call-again-for-nuclear-to-be-part-of-the-eu-taxonomy-8946044

Letter says EC needs be ‘brave’ against opposition A group of 87 members of European Parliament (MEPs) signed a letter sent this morning to European commissioners calling on Brussels policy makers to include nuclear energy in the European Union’s sustainable finance taxonomy.

The letter said that reports by the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and two other expert groups “with expertise in environmental science” have shown that nuclear qualified as sustainable and does no more harm to human health or to the environment than other energy production sources already included in the bloc’s taxonomy.

The sustainable finance taxonomy is a package of regulations that governs investment in activities that the EU says are environmentally friendly.

Date: Friday, 09 July 2021
Original article: nucnet.org/news/members-of-eu-parliament-call-on-commission-to-include-nuclear-in-green-taxonomy-7-4-2021