The Finnish Energy Industry Association has appealed for nuclear power to be included in Europe’s sustainable finance taxonomy after an expert report concluded that the fuel qualifies as sustainable and does no more harm to human health or to the environment than other electricity production technologies.

The Helsinki-based association, which represents more than 250 companies in the sector, said including nuclear in the taxonomy would give the industry access to much-needed financial products and programmes. The association said there is a need for constant investment in existing nuclear power and money is needed for this from the market. “We are concerned about the impact of the taxonomy on the interest rates for nuclear financing and thus on production costs,” the association said in a statement.