While the Heads of State or Government of the 28 Member States of the European Union agreed on the EU's objective of climate neutrality by 2050 (see EUROPE 12389/1), the European Council of 12 and 13 December also revealed serious differences between Member States regarding the use of nuclear energy in the coming years.
While Czech, Slovak and Hungarian leaders explicitly expressed their support for nuclear power at the EU summit, Luxembourg and Austria let their reservations be known.
" Nuclear energy is clean energy without emissions. I don't know why countries have a problem with this", said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.
For his part, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said that the objective of neutrality by 2050 could not be achieved without the use of nuclear energy.
On the other hand, for Austrian Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein, “nuclear energy is not a safe and sustainable source of energy”.
On the same side was Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, for whom it is unthinkable that nuclear power should be classified among the "eco-sustainable energies", because of the radioactive waste that this energy source causes and the risks of accidents associated with it.
"I think every country today is free to choose their energy mix, but if [nuclear] has to be paid with the money of EU taxpayers, no, I’m not in favour", he also said, appearing to refer to the future European Just Transition Fund, intended to support regions for which the transition is more complicated (mainly due to their high economic dependence on fossil fuels) (see EUROPE 12388/3).
Respect for the principle of technological neutrality. Finally, the conclusions adopted by the leaders on 12 December state that "the European Council is aware of the need to [...] respect the right of Member States to decide on their energy mix and to choose the most appropriate technologies". They also acknowledge that "certain Member States have indicated that they use nuclear energy as part of their national energy mix".
This explicit reference to nuclear power, which reaffirms the importance of respecting the principle of technological neutrality - enshrined in Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) - did not appear in the draft conclusions of 11 December, demonstrating that Member States do not really have a common position in this area.
Its addition was reportedly requested by the Czech Republic, supported by Poland, French President Emmanuel Macron told the press after the leaders' discussion on climate neutrality.
The IPCC and nuclear energy. Justifying this decision, a European source pointed out that the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) special report on the impacts of global warming 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels indicates that it is not possible to stay below +1.5°C without retaining a share of nuclear energy in the energy mix.
Nevertheless, while this argument is regularly used by nuclear advocates to say that the IPCC advocates the use of nuclear power, it must be put into context.
Contacted by EUROPE, the Belgian climatologist and former IPCC Vice-Chair Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, first of all, made it clear that the group of experts does not prescribe one source of energy over another.
Based on an assessment of the scientific literature, the IPCC report simply shows that, in most scenarios - and not in all scenarios - that allow people to stay below the 1.5 degree of warming, the share of nuclear energy is increasing, he explained.
Nuclear energy in the EU. Today, nuclear energy’s place in the world is still marginal. According to the latest available Eurostat figures, in 2017, the share of nuclear energy in the Union's energy mix was 12.3%. However, there are wide disparities between Member States, which explains their differences of opinion on this energy source.
In 2017, the share of nuclear energy in the energy mix of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary was 23.1%, 16.2% and 15.3% respectively, while it is zero for around ten other Member States, including Luxembourg and Austria.
With 40.3% of its energy mix coming from nuclear power in 2017, France remains by far the country in the world most dependent on this energy source.
Finally, it should be noted that the Member States' ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) supported, on Monday 16 December, an amended compromise text on the regulation laying the foundations for the future taxonomy, according to which nuclear and gas could be recognised as activities contributing to the climate transition (see other news).
To consult the conclusions of the European Council: https://bit.ly/38M6F9x (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)