As of: 01/21/2022 6:50 p.m
The federal government has to comment on the plans of the EU Commission to classify nuclear power and gas as “sustainable” by midnight. But while nuclear power remains a no, there is disagreement when it comes to gas.
There is obviously still no agreement in the federal government on Germany’s position on the EU Commission’s plans to classify fossil gas as a “sustainable” investment. “The statement will be further coordinated in the departmental group,” said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann. However, the deadline for submitting them expires in a few hours.
On the other hand, there are no differences of opinion on the classification of nuclear power. “In its statement, the federal government will be firmly convinced that nuclear energy cannot be classified as sustainable,” said Hoffmann. “We think the technology is too dangerous,” she said; moreover, the question of final storage has still not been clarified.
The background is the EU Commission’s proposal for the so-called taxonomy, which stipulates that gas and nuclear power plants should be classified as “green” investments under certain conditions. The taxonomy defines which areas of the economy are considered climate-friendly.
All EU member states can take a stand
Germany and the 26 other EU member states can comment on the Commission’s proposal until midnight. The Commission then wants to turn the draft into an official so-called delegated act – and thus initiate the next step towards implementation.
According to research by the dpa, at least eleven member states, including France, Poland and Hungary, expressly support the plans. Only a few countries, such as Austria, Spain and Denmark, reject the planned classifications. Austria and Luxembourg are even considering taking legal action against it. Germany is one of the semi-decided – where there is only a clear rejection of nuclear power, but different views on the classification of gas power plants.
Environment Minister does not want to classify gas as sustainable
“Basically, the federal government regards gas as a bridging technology,” affirmed government spokeswoman Hoffmann. In the past, Germany had clearly supported the inclusion of gas in the taxonomy. However, the Greens in particular are pushing for fossil gas not to be classified as “sustainable” for that reason.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, for example, clearly criticized the classification of gas. “I am convinced that classification as sustainable in the taxonomy is not necessary for either natural gas or nuclear power,” Lemke told the dpa news agency. Even if Germany is dependent on natural gas for “a short transitional period”, it does not need a sustainability seal at EU level, she explained.
FDP: “Investments in gas are sustainable”
Lukas Köhler, the deputy leader of the coalition partner FDP, sees things differently. “Investments in gas are sustainable if the switch to climate-friendly hydrogen is ensured in the long term,” said Köhler of the dpa. Germany is “well advised to distinguish between gas and nuclear energy”. The inclusion of gas in the so-called EU taxonomy is also a question of security of supply. “The security of supply cannot be guaranteed without a massive expansion of gas-fired power plants,” said Köhler.
The association of municipal companies also campaigned for support for future gas-fired power plants. “These power plants primarily ensure the expansion of weather-dependent renewable energies and thus also enable the exit from coal,” said VKU Managing Director Ingbert Liebing. Including these “transformation power plants” in the EU taxonomy is “in Germany’s very own interest”.
Environmental groups: Reject both gas and nuclear power
Several environmental organizations have asked the federal government to disclose their content. “It’s about transparency in important decisions about climate and environmental protection. Otherwise, the incumbent federal government will lose its credibility,” says the joint appeal, which was made by Campact, the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND) and the German Environmental Aid, among others have published.
For weeks, the associations have been calling for the controversial EU draft taxonomy to be stopped because they fear the classification would create “false incentives” and disadvantages for renewable energies. But stopping it could be difficult: A spokesman for the EU Commission said that the Brussels authorities would study feedback from EU countries and officially accept the proposal “as soon as possible”. Only a majority of at least 20 states or members of the European Parliament could stop it – which is currently not apparent.
The government spokeswoman Hoffmann confirmed that the government’s statement should be sent to Brussels by midnight. She left it open whether she would then be publicly visible.