Brussels, 03/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - During a plenary debate ahead of the European Council of 4 January, members of the European Parliament spoke out against an attempt by France and the Czech Republic to get a reference to nuclear energy as a weapon in the fight against climate change included in the conclusions, as they fear that this will damage renewable energy.
If the amendments sponsored by Paris and Prague to the draft conclusions of the European leaders are adopted on Friday, “this would be a decisive step forward in favour of nuclear energy, which would have the indirect consequence of undermining renewable energy”, said Luxembourg Green Claude Turmes. In the view of French Liberal Corinne Lepage, this would be “an abuse of authority as regards international climate conventions signed by France since Rio, as all negotiators have always taken care to ensure that nuclear power does not benefit from measures designed to reduce greenhouse gases”. “Not only would this allow France to take advantage of European subsidies for alternative energies, but it would also continue its policy of sabotage as regards procedures”, she continued.
In a paragraph on the conclusions of the European Council on long-term energy prospects, France wants to put low-carbon energies alongside renewables, calling for the EU and its member states to commit to promoting investment in renewable energies and low-carbon energies, such as nuclear, with the aim that by 2020, two thirds of electricity production will come from low-carbon sources. This objective could clearly damage the development of green energies, argues Turmes.
At a meeting of foreign or European affairs ministers on Monday 31 January to prepare for the summit, the French and Czech ministers, Laurent Wauquiez and Karel Schwarzenberg respectively, adopted a declaration expressing their common position on the importance of low-carbon energies, reiterating that “nuclear energy represents a low-carbon source of energy, responding to economic rationality and the climate change objectives”. (E.H./transl fl)