The EU’s green transportation goals have been rejected by a group of seven nations led by Germany, reigniting a debate with France that has prevented an agreement on the bloc’s renewable energy policy.
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain all signed the letter.
The seven nations reaffirm their opposition to incorporating nuclear power in determining green transportation fuel targets in a letter to the European Commission.
The renewables directive’s green transportation goals for nuclear-derived fuels should be waived, according to France and eight other EU nations. This would be accomplished in practice by excluding those from the denominator used to determine binding targets for green transportation fuels.
According to Paris, the action is meant to ensure that electrolysers installed in Europe may operate at their full potential by utilizing both nuclear and renewable electricity sources rather than to restrict the potential of renewable hydrogen. Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia are members of this pro-nuclear alliance.
The seven EU nations, however, disagree, arguing that the renewable energy directive should not include low-carbon fuels.
The seven countries acknowledge that nuclear-derived hydrogen “may play a role in some member states” and that “a clear regulatory framework for them is needed”. However, they contend that this has to be addressed as part of the ongoing rewriting of EU gas legislation.
