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LAST UPDATE | 1 Jan 2022
THE EUROPEAN UNION is planning to label energy from nuclear power and natural gas as “green” sources for investment despite internal disagreement over whether they truly qualify as sustainable options.
The proposal aims to support the 27-nation bloc’s shift towards a carbon-neutral future and gild its credentials as a global standard-setter for fighting climate change.
But the fact the European Commission quietly distributed the text to member states late yesterday, in the final hours of 2021 after the much-delayed document had been twice promised earlier in the year, highlighted the rocky road to draft it.
If a majority of member states back it, it will become EU law, coming into effect from 2023.
The commission confirmed today that it has started consulting with member states on the proposal where it covers nuclear and gas energy.
“The activities covered in this complementary Delegated Act would accelerate the phase out of more harmful sources, such as coal, and in moving us towards a more low-carbon greener energy mix,” it said.
It said it “considers there is a role for natural gas and nuclear as a means to facilitate the transition towards a predominantly renewable-based future”.
France has led the charge for nuclear power – its main energy source – to be included, despite robust opposition from Austria and scepticism from Germany, which is in the process of shutting all its nuclear plants.
Germany’s Environment Minister Steffi Lemke told German media group Funke on Saturday that including gas and nuclear would be “a mistake”, arguing that atomic power “can lead to devastating environmental catastrophes”.
Austrian Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler also criticised the project, denouncing nuclear power as “an energy of the past” that was “too expensive and too slow” to combat climate change.
Conditions attached
Fossil-reliant countries in the EU’s east and south have defended the use of natural gas, at least as a transitional source, even though it still produces significant greenhouse emissions.
“It is necessary to recognise that the fossil gas and nuclear energy sectors can contribute to the decarbonisation of the Union’s economy,” the commission proposal says.
It added that, for nuclear power, appropriate measures should be put in place for radioactive waste management and disposal.
Its proposal calls for the building of new nuclear power plants to be conditioned on permits given out before 2045, and work to extend the functioning of existing plants would need to be authorised before 2040.
For gas, it said that carbon-emission limits should be set to well below those produced by coal-burning plants, and it should only be a transitionary source with plants needing building permits given before 2031.
The member states and experts consulted by the commission have two weeks to demand revisions to the proposal before a final draft is published in mid-January.
The European Parliament would then have four months to either approve or reject the text with a simple vote.
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Sun columnist…..
*Stops reading.
I have made a decision to ignore this person. I suggest everybody else should do the same. She an unhealthy irritant best forgotten about.
Very true. She is a dose
Can we please stop giving this sewer rat attention?
Only opened this article to say that!!
Sewer rats worldwide rising up in ignominy …
If I start saying stupid nasty sh!t to get attention will the media report everything I say too?
For the LOVE of humanity Ignore this muppet!
What I find interesting about this woman is she has a voice. what does that say about us. why does she have a voice in the media. I mean if no one actually wanted to hear her she wouldn’t.
No problem Katie. In the interest of your obvious need for self promotion and attention seeking, let’s send one round to yours. Lead by example and give us all a break. That way you can ensure the infamy you desire and at the same time relieve us all of your bullcrap. Win win!
She has an autistic son and she herself suffers from extreme epilepsy, which results in her being often hospitalised. Where do you draw the line if you don’t object to gassing old people??
She’s a troll, nothing more. One day she’s going to say something that will have repercussions.
what a twonk!
Shame on Daragh Brophy for reporting this dribble!
What’s she got against the youth in Asia anyway?
Did you read the article? She supports youth in Asia.
Another publicity stunt but and I bet she will not be so keen when she gets older as we all do and it comes pretty fast too.
I actually have no clue where this turd got shat from. She just suddenly seemed to be in the news.
Concentration camps started out as euthanasia vans for old and mentally ill people. Granted against their will. It quickly lead to Nazis looking for more efficient and effective ways to murder. This woman is an idiot
I wonder would she give us a demonstration on how they work !
Do liberals not love the idea of euthanasia? I would have thought this idea would appeal to leftist’s and their acolytes in the media.
Oh shut up! I can’t stand that American talk.
Eh do people not realise this isn’t actually Enoch Burke? Its just someone trying to get a rise by being as stupid and annoying as the real one? Just ignore it and it will go away.
No it’s not actually Enoch Burke and never was but people told me I was so often that I began to believe it.
You seem to have gone to the trouble of setting up an account to act troll fantasies. Mind your mental health, lad. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-online-secrets/201409/internet-trolls-are-narcissists-psychopaths-and-sadists
Scarr is your real name then I take it? Or just a big Lion King fan?
I agree. We never referred to people as lefties or Rightys unless we meant what hand they wrote with. Way too much influence coming from America. It should be the other way around. Half of them think the world is 6000 years old. Hardly a good basis for looking up too.
Big difference between an alias account and a troll account.
They can start with euthanising her. Everyone wins!
If this fool is ever sitting in doctors surgery it’ll be at the business side of the desk, probably at an appointment for cosmetic surgery. As for being “super-keen on euthanasia”, lead by example please.
Her face is enough to make me think about euthanasia.
She looks about 60 and the site of her neck would turn your stomach.
I wonder how much RTE pay this clown to appear on the LLS.
And she was totally pissed too, totally unprofessional.
If only cannistan cream worked on this irritation
Soylent green.
Kill disabled, etc is it?
Mmmmm Soylent green
YAAAWWWNNNN.
You just know when a person comes out with such a statement, that they are pretty irrelevant….
Love it if they called for Katie
Love how she manages to troll people time and again.
I think she’s awesome.
It’s a disgrace these articles about this woman are published!
Love it if they called for Katie!!
Gary Glitter is dead keen on the the youth in Asia vans too.
I would only support euthanasia vans if Katie Hopkins was first in the queue
Hopkins u are in dire need of a labotomy
She is some pain why the press feel the need to,publicise anything about her is beyond maybe if e ignore her she will go away
have your say