green washing
The EU and Germany want to classify nuclear energy and natural gas as sustainable – but now there are protests
Environmental organizations hand over a list of signatures on the EU taxonomy to Ricarda Lang (r), elected federal chairwoman of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, in front of the Green Party headquarters.
© Kay Nietfeld / DPA
Green nuclear power? That is exactly the plan of the EU. Gas and nuclear power are to be considered climate-friendly in the future. But climate protectors are bitter about it. More than 300,000 people have signed against the project.
The designated federal leader of the Greens, Ricarda Lang, has received a list of more than 300,000 protest signatures against the EU Commission’s proposal for the “green” classification of gas and nuclear power. An alliance of several environmental organizations, including Campact, Deutsche Umwelthilfe and Greenpeace, had previously collected signatures against the controversial project in an online appeal. With the handover to Lang, the appeal “No to nuclear and gas” would be made directly to the federal government, the organizers said on Thursday.
The signatories to the campaign, which has been online since the beginning of the year, want the federal government to “oppose all means against” the EU Commission’s taxonomy plans. The project endangers climate protection in Europe and could entail “billions in investments in outdated, high-risk and climate-damaging technologies,” the statement said.
Greens want to campaign against taxonomy
The background is a controversial legal act that the EU Commission accepted on Wednesday despite massive criticism. It is about an innovation in the so-called EU taxonomy, which stipulates that investments in gas and nuclear power plants in the European Union should be considered climate-friendly or “sustainable” under certain conditions.
The designated leader of the Greens, Lang, had sharply criticized the decision shortly after it was announced. This plan devalues the taxonomy as an EU eco-label for sustainable investments, she said on Wednesday. The Greens wanted to ensure that the federal government voted “no”, she had also declared. In addition, it is important to examine the chances of success for a lawsuit against the legal act.