Berlin divided over nuclear energy assessment in EU climate policy

A rift appears to be forming within Germany’s new coalition government over the question of whether nuclear energy should be deemed sustainable at EU level.

“Discussions are under way at European level with our European partners, with the European Commission and also within the federal government,” said deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille in Berlin on Friday.

His comments come a day after German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche defended a major policy reversal that saw Berlin drop its opposition to nuclear energy being deemed sustainable.

In the European Union’s taxonomy for sustainable economic activities, technologies that emit no carbon dioxide (CO2) or are low in CO2 should be prioritized, Reiche noted.

The taxonomy lists areas in which investments can be made to combat climate change. Certain investments in gas or nuclear power plants are categorized as climate-friendly.

But on Friday, German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider said Germany continues to oppose this assessment, as it had done under the previous centre-left administration, amid criticism that the use of nuclear energy produces radioactive waste and should not be treated on par with renewable sources.

Schneider, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), told dpa that “comments made by individual members of the federal government suggesting that there is a new openness here are private opinions.”

“The federal government has not taken a position on this issue and, with the SPD, will not do so in the future,” he added.

A paper jointly published earlier this month by Germany’s new conservative-led government and the French government, a staunch supporter of nuclear power, states that energy policy is to be based on climate neutrality, competitiveness and sovereignty and that all low-emission energies, including nuclear, are to be treated equally.

While Reiche stressed the need to be open to technologies, Schneider insisted that the country had exited nuclear power for good reason.

“Nuclear power is significantly more expensive than renewable alternatives, which Germany has already made great strides in developing,” he said.

“Nuclear power entails incalculable risks – in terms of accidents and the spread of radioactive material. I cannot seriously describe such a technology as sustainable,” he added.

Schneider went on to say that Germany opposes EU funding for nuclear facilities. “This also applies to attempts to equate nuclear power with sustainable electricity generation from renewable energies.”