15 Feb (NucNet): A European initiative which covers the financing of investments based on environmental, social and governance considerations should refer to low-carbon technologies as a whole to bring it in line with the European Commission’s belief that Europe’s 2050 carbon-free power system will be composed of two low-carbon sources: renewables and nuclear, Brussels-based industry group Foratom has said.
In a position paper made public this week, Foratom said the sustainable finance initiative, which is being debated by the European parliament, should not aim to exclude a particular technology without providing a valid justification.
“In order to identify whether an energy source is sustainable or not, it is important evaluate each source on the basis of objective criteria and using a whole life-cycle approach,” Foratom said.
“The sustainable finance initiative should maintain the principle of technological neutrality and encourage long-term investments in technologies capable of decarbonising Europe’s economy. To do so, it must recognise and include all low-carbon technologies, rather than focusing only on renewables.”
This will also ensure that future potential low-carbon breakthrough technologies, other than renewables, are not excluded from this initiative, Foratom said.
Foratom noted in the position paper that in its ‘A Clean Planet for All’ communication, the EC confirmed that nuclear will form the backbone of a carbon-free European power system, together with renewables. Foratom said the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on global warming recognised that nuclear power has an important role to play if the world is to keep global warming to below 1.5C.
Further details online: https://bit.ly/2GKaS27
