Taxonomy in the European Union consists of making a list of energies that are good for both the climate and the environment. And there will be big advantages for the energies which will be registered there.
franceinfo: What will be the advantages for the companies that will be part of this list?
Grégoire Lecalot: They will be able to have access to so-called green finance credits, European subsidies but also private investments, because being classified as green will act as a sort of label to avoid greenwashing – these attempts by certain companies to artificially green their balance sheets to attract investors . It will be a competitive and financial advantage.
With this list, the European Union hopes to channel financial flows towards these energies considered as sustainable, those which will allow it to achieve the climate objectives it has set itself, namely a 55% reduction in gas emissions. greenhouse effect in 2030 compared to 1990. Discussions around this list began in 2019, a list to be closed at the end of the year.
And debates rage around this list. France in particular expects a lot from it?
Yes, France would like to see one energy in particular appear in this list: nuclear energy. Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, hammered home the point in front of his European colleagues: “There is no reason nuclear power should not be included by the end of the year”, he hammered. It is based for this on two favorable studies, because the power plants emit little or no CO2, once they are in operation.
France has succeeded in convincing Poland and the Czech Republic, but the studies cited are controversial, and Germany, Austria and Spain, like many NGOs, are opposed to them because of the radioactive risk and waste.
And for France, the stakes are high?
This is a major issue. Nuclear power is a financial ogre: 49 billion euros for the work program on the current power plants, in order to allow them to last 10 more years. Forty billion more if France decides to build 6 EPR reactors, knowing that the Flamanville reactor, still under construction, has already swallowed 19 … Investors or European subsidies would therefore be welcome.
In addition to its lobbying, France hopes to make Europe bend by campaigning for another at first sight surprising energy in a list of non-CO2 emitting energies: gas. He is also not selected for the moment. But it is also supported by Germany, a card to negotiate with our neighbors which risks leading to a controversial list. Answer therefore at the end of the year.
