But by any objective standard, the last half century has left Europeans today enormously better off than their grandparents were fifty years ago. Environmental degradation, political repression, and limits on consumer sovereignty were pervasive under the authoritarian regimes that dominated Eastern Europe for four decades after World War II. To be sure, not all was sweetness and light. Life expectancy lengthened as a result of improved nutrition and advances in medical science. Hours worked declined by one-third, providing an enormous increase in leisure time. The quality of life improved even more than suggested by this simple measure. Gross domestic product per capita, what the income of a typical resident of Europe will buy, tripled in the second half of the twentieth century. Today, their lives are eased and enriched by natural-gas furnaces, electric refrigerators, and an array of electronic gadgets that boggles the mind. In 1950, many of the continent's residents heated their homes with coal, cooled their food with ice, and lacked even rudimentary forms of indoor plumbing. Thus, France is taking advantage of its latest victories at EU level to highlight the “contribution of nuclear power to our climate objectives and to energy security in Europe”, said the Minister’s office.In the second half of the twentieth century, the lives of Europeans were transformed almost beyond recognition. ![]() “We must now apply this logic to our renewable hydrogen objectives in the RED3 directive,” Pannier-Runacher said.Įarlier, the energy minister’s office had deemed “interesting, smart and reasonable” the proposal made by Pascal Canfin, the chairman of the Parliament’s environment committee, to introduce a low-carbon “weighting” for renewable energy targets included in the RED3 directive.įinally, French centrist lawmaker Christophe Grudler mentioned on 16 February a meeting in Brussels bringing together some twenty MEPs around Pannier-Runacher to discuss the contribution of nuclear power to the EU’s decarbonisation objectives. This is clearly the case in France, where the entire electricity grid is low-carbon thanks to nuclear power.įollowing this, the French energy transition ministry called for more “coherence” in future texts on hydrogen, particularly within the Renewable Energy Directive (RED3) currently being negotiated in Brussels. The next day (10 February), EURACTIV revealed that France and pro-atomic countries had obtained that nuclear-generated hydrogen could be exempted from so-called “additionality” rules on renewable hydrogen manufacturing, as long as its production “is located in a bidding zone where the electricity emission intensity is below 18 gCO2eq/MJ”. ![]() Indeed, on 9 February, the European Parliament’s energy committee officially recognised nuclear-generated hydrogen as a low-carbon energy source. In its endeavour, Paris hopes to build on the latest victories of nuclear advocates. ![]() Nevertheless, the message is clear: “to send a strong signal in the various European talks”.ĮXCLUSIVE: France urges Brussels to label nuclear-produced hydrogen 'green'įrench Energy Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher is trying to get EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson to include nuclear among energy sources for the production of so-called “green” hydrogen, according to a letter seen by EURACTIV France. A joint declaration is said to be under consideration but was not yet confirmed on Sunday. In this context, France intends to bring up the question of nuclear energy.Īccording to the minister’s office, Pannier-Runacher is expected to bring together 11 of her counterparts in Stockholm on 28 February, as well as the European Commission, to discuss a “nuclear alliance” in Europe.Īlongside France, the eleven ministers joining Pannier-Runacher in Stockholm are from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.Ī project that the French Minister calls for “with all her heart” to assert “the contribution of nuclear power to our climate objectives and to energy security in Europe”, according to the terms used by Pannier-Runacher’s staff.įor the time being, the ministry has not given any details about the content of this alliance. On the agenda is the upcoming reform of the European electricity market, a debate on energy security ahead of next winter, as well as the bloc’s industrial competitiveness with regards to future energy policy. Pannier-Runacher will be in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday (27 and 28 February) for two days of informal talks with fellow EU energy and transport ministers. ![]() French energy transition minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher will meet on Tuesday (28 February) with twelve counterparts in Stockholm to discuss the potential launch of a brand new “nuclear alliance” within the EU.
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