After a year of controversy, the European Union recently formulated a draft plan to include some natural gas and nuclear energy projects as transitional energy sources into green investment projects, which will help Europe reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This is a landmark proposal, which means that nuclear power and natural gas will continue to be one of Europe's main energy sources in the next few decades, and the nuclear power industry is expected to usher in a revival. The EU pointed out in the draft that “it is necessary to realize that the fossil natural gas and nuclear energy industries can contribute to the decarbonization of the EU economy.”

According to a press release issued by the European Union, the draft also includes speeding up the phase-out of coal and other energy sources in order to build a lower-carbon green energy portfolio in the local area.

This draft mainly provides a set of common definitions for sustainable investment in the European Union in the coming decades. The member states of the European Commission will provide feedback on the draft before the end of January to determine whether natural gas and nuclear energy projects can eventually be included in green financing projects. If supported by most countries, the draft will become law in 2023.

The European Commission pointed out in the statement, "Considering scientific advice and current technological progress, as well as the different transformation challenges between member states, the Commission believes that natural gas and nuclear energy can still play a certain role during the future transition to the era of renewable energy." Indeed. , Whether it is necessary to continue financing nuclear power and natural gas has become one of the biggest focuses of debate among EU countries on the definition of sustainable investment. After all, the use of natural gas will still emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and nuclear energy may have the risk of nuclear leakage. Once a nuclear leakage occurs, it will have a devastating impact on the environment.

Different countries have different attitudes

Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and other countries have always opposed nuclear energy. EU countries, including the Czech Republic, Finland and France, believe that nuclear energy is essential to the phasing out of coal-fired power generation. About 70% of the electricity in these countries comes from nuclear energy.

France is the largest nuclear energy producer in Europe. French President Macron and other politicians have been lobbying to retain nuclear energy investment in recent months. Germany, which is the most radical in the green transition, has publicly expressed its opposition recently. The German Environment Minister claimed that the draft was absolutely wrong.

Even with the recent energy crisis in Europe due to the shortage of natural gas supply, Germany has shut down three nuclear power plants as planned. The exit cost of each plant is as high as 1.1 billion euros. Currently, Germany only retains three nuclear power plants. However, not all natural gas and nuclear energy are considered green investment projects. According to Reuters, it has obtained a detailed text of the draft. Nuclear energy projects need plans, funds and locations for the safe disposal of radioactive waste, and new nuclear power plants must obtain construction permits before 2045 in order to be considered green investments.

As an alternative to fossil fuel power plants, natural gas power stations must not emit more than 270 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour (kWh). The project will obtain construction permits before December 31, 2030, and plans to obtain permits before the end of 2035. Transition to low carbon. Only when these conditions are met can it be included in sustainable investment projects. Editor/Xu Shengpeng