Germany supports gas in EU green label row

The German government this weekend reiterated its opposition to include nuclear energy in the EU's green finance taxonomy, while it called on the European Commission to amend rules for the inclusion of natural gas as a transitional fuel.

In a letter sent to Brussels after the expiry of the deadline to provide feedback on the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the green taxonomy, the German government rejected the use of the latter while detailing new requirements for gas to meet climate targets.

"We have once again clearly expressed our rejection of the inclusion of nuclear energy" in the EU taxonomy as "it is risky and expensive", economy and climate protection minister Robert Habeck and environment minister Steffi Lemke said.

The government pointed out the lack of safety requirements in the field of nuclear power, while reiterating that the lengthy construction of new reactors "does not offer a short-term opportunity" to phase out carbon-intensive energy sources such as coal.

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, transitional fuels "must be geared towards these goals" by allowing for greater energy efficiency and increase generation from renewable energies, the letter says. A higher share of renewables in the energy mix also requires flexible generation capacity to be ramped up and down at times of lower renewables supply, "which nuclear power cannot provide", the letter continues.

While the government rejects the inclusion of nuclear energy in the green taxonomy, it highlights the importance of gas as a transitional fuel.

Gas used in "ultra-modern and efficient gas-fired power plants forms a bridge for a limited transitional period" to allow for a 2030 phase-out of coal-fired generation, the government says in the letter.

The proposed intermediate fuel switch targets to low-carbon and renewables gases — 30pc by 2026 and 55pc by 2030 — laid out by the taxonomy proposal are however not realistic, the government highlights.

Fuel-switching goals should only be seen as guidelines and be "enabled in a flexible manner after 2036", the letter says.

"Should the delegated act remain unchanged and the commission ignore the critical opinions of a number of member states... we believe that Germany should reject it", Habeck and Lemke say.

The European Commission will revise the proposal based on the feedback of the member states, after which each member has four to six months to object to the new delegated act.

By Florence Schmit