Putin “Rubbing Hands With Glee” After EU Classifies Gas as Green Energy – By Jennifer Rankin (Mother Jones) / July 8, 2022
“I am in shock,” said a Ukrainian member of the UN’s climate change panel.
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The European parliament has backed plans to label gas and nuclear energy as “green,” rejecting appeals from prominent Ukrainians and climate activists that the proposals are a gift to Vladimir Putin. One senior member said the vote was a “dark day for the climate,” while experts said the EU had set a dangerous precedent for countries to follow.
The row began late last year with the leak of long-awaited details on the EU’s green investment guidebook, intended to help investors channel billions to the clean power transition. The European Commission decided some gas and nuclear projects could be included in the EU taxonomy of environmentally sustainable economic activities, subject to certain conditions.
Under the plans, gas can be classed as a sustainable investment if “the same energy capacity cannot be generated with renewable sources” and plans are in place to switch to renewables or “low-carbon gases.” Nuclear power can be called green if a project promises to deal with radioactive waste. The plan could only be stopped by a majority of EU member states or members of the European parliament.
