EU Parliament Vote Allows Nuclear and Natural Gas to be Considered ‘Green’ Energy

A vote took place in the European parliament yesterday about which kinds of energy projects could be available for EU funding in its effort to decarbonize its economy. The parliament voted not to block both nuclear energy and natural gas from being funded if they were part of a move to transition away from higher-carbon fuel sources such as coal. The EU has a goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

The nuclear industry in particular has welcomed this vote as it promotes nuclear energy as a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy source. Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of World Nuclear Association stated:

“The European Parliament’s positive vote sends a clear endorsement of nuclear energy to the financial community. It has listened to the science and recognised that sustainable investment in nuclear energy will help the EU reach net-zero by 2050. Now governments, investors, and industry must act urgently and accelerate the deployment of new nuclear capacity to achieve this goal.”

The vote is not expected to be opposed by the EU Commission and the new rules are set to be implemented on Jan 1, 2023.