Nuclear energy: EU Commission sends wrong signal
Exchange with MdB Carina Konrad - EAC advocates e-fuels from green hydrogen.
Brussels, 17.02.2022
Members of the European Automobile Clubs (EAC) are concerned about the EU Commission's recent decision to classify nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source.
The operation of nuclear power plants continues to entail major
safety risks and an unresolved disposal problem. In addition, funding of nuclear energy distort competition in Europe and slow down efforts to achieve rapid common european decarbonization.
Instead, the EAC calls for massive EU-wide support for the expansion of renewables for green power generation. The EAC made this point of view clear in an exchange with Carina Konrad, deputy chair of the FDP parliamentary group in the German Bundestag.
The mobility of 450 million people is at stake
The EU's energy policy impacts the transport transition directly and the mobility of 450 million people directly. The EU Commission should make a clear commitment that the increasing demand for electrical energy should be covered quickly as possible by renewable energies.This is particularly important for the use of electric cars or for the production of green hydrogen. Linked to this is another demand of the EAC with regard to synthetic
fuels: "We are committed to harnessing the potential of e-fuels to maintain mobility, especially in those countries countries that currently rely fully on nuclear power, but at the same time will continue to depend on the internal combustion engine for a long time
combustion engine for a long time to come," explained EAC spokesman Gerrit Reichel. As an example, he cited Slovakia, home of EAC member AKSR. Solar power accounts for less than 3 percent of the country's energy production, wind power plants do not even exist in Slovakia.
Carina Konrad explains: "I am not enthusiastic about the path the EU has chosen in its taxonomy. In the past, Germany decided to phase out nuclear power and coal-fired power at almost the same time. Our European partners have chosen other paths for themselves. From our point of view, the current path is a compromise reached at European level, and we have to deal and live with it. Now it's a question of shaping the path we've taken in such a way that it finds acceptance and our economy can go along with it. The electricity price itself is what counts, as we are currently experiencing this in the debate about high energy prices. This is not accepted."
Carina Konrad: "E-fuels help achieve climate goals"
Referring to synthetic fuels, Konrad explained, "We want people to stay mobile and meet the climate targets at the same time. To this end, we are thinking in terms of open technologies. The use of e-fuels for the existing fleet and for new vehicles will help us achieve our climate targets. But it is also clear we will not have sufficient quantities of e-fuels in the next few years That's why the framework conditions must be right so that electromobility is an alternative for more people. I'm thinking in particular of the charging station infrastructure. We have not only cities where it's easy to trade in your car, we also have rural areas where the car will be indispensable in the near future."
The EAC and Carina Konrad agreed on the idea of requiring countries to pay penalties if they fail to develop charging infrastructure for electric cars: The proposal recently made by European Parliament member Ismail Ertug (SPD) recently made, should be rejected. Konrad: "It's no use if one country achieves the targets and others don't even come close. That won't get us anywhere."
For background: in the EU's taxonomy, investors are given a guideline as to which financial products benefit climate protection.
Press contact:
Gerrit Reichel
Senior Policy Officer, reichel@eaclubs.org
EAC European Automobile Clubs
Berlin Office: Schöneberger Ufer 89 c/o DEVK
Postfach 610217
D-10923 Berlin, Germany
+49 172 1890658