Nuclear and fossil gas can be labeled Green; EU Court rejects Austria’s appeal

Brussels – Nuclear and fossil gas can have the “green” label of sustainability. The European Commission “was entitled to take the view” that certain economic activities in the nuclear energy and fossil
gas sectors can, under certain conditions, contribute substantially to climate change mitigation and climate
change adaptation. For this reason, in a judgment, the EU General Court annulled Austria’s appeal against the first von der Leyen Commission’s sustainability choices.

 In 2022, the Commission
produced a delegated regulation that included nuclear and gas within the taxonomy, a set of criteria defining what constitutes an “eco-friendly” or “environmentally sustainable” economic activity within a production cycle. The government in Vienna challenged the decision, arguing that it was politically motivated and criticizing the polluting nature of the energy sources that Brussels had instead approved.

 According to the Luxembourg judges, the Commission “was entitled to take the view” that nuclear energy generation has near-zero greenhouse gas emissions and that there are currently no technologically and economically feasible low-carbon alternatives at a sufficient scale, such as renewable energy sources, to cover the energy demand continuously and reliably.

 Moreover, the Court said that the delegated regulation supports the notion that economic activities related to fossil gas “can, under certain conditions, contribute substantially” to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is because the document adopts a “gradual approach based on a reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions in stages, while allowing for security of supply.”