Sustainable classification: Federal government welcomes EU plans for gas energy

The EU wants to classify gas energy as sustainable – unlike in the case of nuclear power, the German government had advocated this. While Finance Minister Lindner is satisfied, others in the cabinet are apparently not entirely convinced.

The EU Commission’s proposals to classify nuclear power and gas energy as sustainable under certain circumstances continue to be discussed controversially. While the federal government has taken a clear and unified position on nuclear energy, the opinion on a sustainable classification of gas-fired power plants is apparently not that clear.

A government spokesman welcomed the Reuters news agency that Brussels wants to classify natural gas as a transition technology in the fight against climate change. Against the background of the phasing out of nuclear energy and coal-fired power generation, natural gas is “an important bridging technology on the way to greenhouse gas neutrality,” he said. However, the details proposed by the EU Commission still have to be analyzed.

Plants later for hydrogen

FDP boss and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner also praised the Brussels plans for gas. “Realistically, Germany needs modern gas-fired power plants as a transition technology because we are foregoing coal and nuclear power,” Lindner told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “From the perspective of climate neutrality, the systems should later be able to be used with hydrogen.”

That is why the federal government has also campaigned for the relevant investments to be effectively possible. “I am grateful that the Commission apparently took up arguments,” said Lindner. “From our point of view, further improvements are conceivable.” If the transformation is to succeed, investment-friendly framework conditions are necessary.

Classifications subject to conditions

The first reaction from Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck sounded somewhat different. “The proposals of the EU Commission dilute the good label for sustainability”, Habeck had explained, especially with a view to nuclear power. The Green politician also emphasized: “It is also questionable whether to include fossil gas in the taxonomy.” At least the EU Commission wants a transition to the use of hydrogen in gas-fired power plants from 2035.

Brussels had sent a proposal on New Year’s Eve in which they differentiated between green technologies such as solar and wind energy and those for nuclear and gas. For these two areas there should be requirements for the classification.

Natural gas power plants should therefore be able to receive a sustainable label if they remain below certain CO2 limit values, replace a more environmentally harmful system and are approved by December 31, 2030.

Industry considers natural gas to be indispensable

The industry considers natural gas to be an essential bridging technology for the basic supply for Germany as a business location. That said the chief executive of the Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI), Wolfgang Große Entrup, the news agency Reuters. If the expansion of renewable energies is slow, the exit from coal and nuclear energy will make it necessary to move into new gas-fired power plants. “Otherwise the lights will go out in the industry,” he warned.

Brussels’s plans to also classify nuclear power as sustainable under certain circumstances met with unanimous criticism in Berlin. Finance Minister Lindner told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”: “It is well known that the Federal Government takes a different view on the issue of nuclear energy than the Commission.” A government spokesman had previously said that Berlin was still convinced that nuclear energy cannot be classified as sustainable.

Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck had in the ARD said, it is about “creating a financial investment market and qualifying it as green and sustainable – and that is a fraudulent label”. Here he referred in particular to radioactive waste – “and that is why this taxonomy decision is wrong,” said the Green politician.

Little hope of changing plans

The 27 EU governments are expected to comment on the proposals from Brussels by January 12th. The classification for “green” technologies in the so-called taxonomy is intended to help private investments flow increasingly into renewable energies. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), like the EU Commission, pointed out that it was only about guidelines for private, but not for public investments.

According to Habeck, the federal government now wants to take a leisurely look at the proposals, “but I cannot imagine an approval.” He hoped that there would be changes, but admitted that the EU Commission is in a “strong position”.

The reason: The current plan can only be prevented if at least 20 EU countries come together, representing at least 65 percent of the total population of the EU, or at least 353 members of the EU Parliament. This is considered unlikely since, besides Germany, only countries such as Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark and Portugal are clearly against taking up nuclear power.