MEPs ban nuclear from green transition fund, leave loophole for gas

(EurActiv, 7 Jul 2020) The European Union is split over which fuels deserve support from the bloc’s flagship green transition fund, after lawmakers on Monday (6 July) called for rules that could allow the money to be spent on some fossil gas projects.

The European Commission wants to launch a €40 billion Just Transition Fund using cash from the EU’s coronavirus recovery fund and its budget for 2021-27 to help carbon-intensive regions launch green industries and retrain workers currently in polluting sectors.

All EU member states agreed last week that the new fund should exclude nuclear and fossil fuels projects – including natural gas projects – a position also shared by the EU Commission.

But on Monday a committee of lawmakers leading talks on the issue in the European Parliament broke ranks. They said that while nuclear energy projects should not be eligible, some fossil gas projects could get just transition funding.

“For regions heavily reliant on the extraction and combustion of coal, lignite, oil shale or peat, MEPs propose a derogation for investments in activities related to natural gas,” the Parliament’s regional affairs committee said in a statement.

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EurActiv, 7 Jul 2020: MEPs ban nuclear from green transition fund, leave loophole for gas