Spain refuses to include nuclear energy and natural gas in the European green taxonomy

Spain has reiterated on Sunday its rejection of the proposal of the European Commission (EC) to include nuclear energy and natural gas generation in the classification table of green options in the community framework, something that would be “a step back” and “an erroneous signal” for the financial markets.

In response to the draft proposal for a green taxonomy of the EC, the Vice President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, stressed that “regardless of whether investments can continue to be undertaken in one or the other, we consider that they are not green or sustainable energies”.

Spain “is a firm defender of the green taxonomy as a key instrument to have common references that can be used by investors to achieve the decarbonization of the economy and achieve climate neutrality in 2050”, but admitting nuclear and natural gas as its part “would be a step backwards”.

The minister has warned that “it does not make sense and sends wrong signals for the energy transition of the EU as a whole”.

Spain admits that both nuclear energy and natural gas have a role in the transition, but “limited in time”, so they should be treated separately and not as green, where there are other key energies for decarbonization and without risk or harm environment, explained the ministry in a statement.

According to the regulatory framework provided in the European Green Deal, the green taxonomy regulation aims to guide national and international companies and investors in their decarbonization plans, identifying environmentally sustainable activities and economic sectors that contribute to the reduction of CO.₂, methane and other gases that cause climate change.

The ministry’s position

Taxonomy must be “credible, useful and based on scientific evidence”

It also aims to help channel these investments towards those essential sectors to achieve the goal of climate neutrality in 2050.

Spain considers that in order to meet these objectives, the taxonomy must be “credible, useful and based on scientific evidence”.

The key to considering an economic activity, sector or technology ‘green’ is its ‘substantial contribution’ to the main environmental goals of the EU, he adds, such as mitigating climate change, among others, while also respecting the principle of not causing significant environmental damage .

Methane emissions from natural gas generation and the issue of nuclear power waste call into question the inclusion of both technologies within the EU’s green taxonomy, according to the source.

Including both “supposes an erroneous signal for the financial markets and does not provide the necessary clarity to focus capital flows towards the decarbonized, resilient and sustainable economy envisaged in the European green pact,” the ministry insisted.

Source: The Vanguard