- European Union advocate adding nuclear and sustainable fuels to a strategic “net-zero” list.
- The Net-Zero Industry Act is a centrepiece of the EU’s push to ensure it is leading in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Union (EU) agrees that nuclear and sustainable fuels should be added to a list of strategic “net-zero” technologies. The EU also promotes its industry to compete with the Chinese and US competitors. The bloc plans to target producing at least 40% of the products it needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – such as solar and wind power equipment, heat pumps and fuel cells – by 2030.
At a meeting in Brussels, the ministers from 27 EU members agreed to include nuclear power and “sustainable alternative fuels” as strategic technologies. Both are controversial, given the opposition of some EU members to nuclear power, while alternative fuels could include e-fuels for which Germany secured an exemption from an EU law to end sales of CO2-emitting cars from 2035.
Furthermore, the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), debated by EU ministers, is a centrepiece of the EU’s push to ensure it is leading in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a manufacturing base for clean tech. The act proposes streamlining the granting of permits, limiting to 18 months a process that can take many years and requiring the EU to designate single contact points for manufacturing project promoters. The final law, which may enter force next year, will follow negotiations between the EU government and European Parliament representatives.