Austria appeals to the CJEU the classification of gas and nuclear as ‘green’ investments

Oct. 10 () –

The Government of Austria has filed an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against the decision of the European Union authorities to consider nuclear energy and gas within the category of ‘green’ investments.

The Austrian Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Leonore Gewessler, has confirmed that the Central European country has filed an “appeal for annulment” before the CJEU, pointing out that the decision to include nuclear energy and gas in the taxonomy regulation “does not do justice to European efforts for a climate-friendly future”.

“The European Commission has completely ignored some essential legal rules and even the critical opinion of its own panel of experts,” said the Austrian minister.

The minister has defended that, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine, there should not be an ‘eco-posturing’ program for investments in nuclear energy and gas, which is “irresponsible” and endangers the future.

In the case of nuclear energy, Gewessler has stated that it is an “obsolete” technology that cannot contribute to climate protection, in addition to involving incalculable dangers and risks. “Just think of Chernobyl or the current disputes around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (Ukraine),” he warned on his official Twitter account.

Likewise, he has also criticized the inclusion of natural gas, since “it is definitely not a green investment”, considering that the burning of natural gas and its extraction and transport releases enormous amounts of CO2 and methane, which are harmful to the climate.

“We must be climate neutral in Austria by 2040 and in the EU by 2050. Calling climate-damaging natural gas green is misleading, undermines the credibility of the taxonomy and is bad for the climate,” he added.