From:
To:
EC PRESIDENT VDL
Cc:
(CAB-VON DER LEYEN)
Subject:
letter to the president of the EU from trade unions
Date:
jeudi 28 janvier 2021 17:55:44
Attachments:
Signature 2019 CFE Energies AG.jpg
Letter to the President of the European Union - trade unions and nuclear -28012021.pdf
Dear Mrs President
Here you will find attached a letter from trade unions from different Member-States about the
inclusion of nuclear energy within the european taxonomy.
Kind regards
In the name of the signatories
Ref. Ares(2021)741395 - 29/01/2021
Monsieur XXX
Ursula VON DER LEYEN
President
European Commission
1049-BRUXELLES
BELGIQUE
75008 PARIS
28 January 2021
Subject : letter from trade unions in the European nuclear sector
Dear Mrs von der Leyen, dear President of the European Commission
As the European community is strongly aiming to achieve a better tomorrow and a sustainable energy
production, we need a dialogue that includes the different energy sectors and where decisions are
based on the best available scientific advice, are economical y sustainable and social y just. This wil
help us fight climate change and put us in the lead of developing a green society with the European
objective of carbon neutrality by 2050. This-low carbon energy transition must be a major political
priority for Europe.
As representative trade union organisations of European employees from different EU Member States
in the energy sector, we would like to draw your attention to the key role that nuclear power
generation must be able to play in enabling Europe to achieve its objective of carbon neutrality, a
priority of the Green Deal that you presented in December 2019. Our industry also has the merit of
contributing to Europe's energy autonomy at a time when the European Commission is promoting the
concept of strategic autonomy in which energy plays a key role.
Currently nuclear power provides almost half of the low-carbon electricity production in the European
Union and this enables the non-emission of half a bil ion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year that would
otherwise have been generated by high CO2 heavy energy production. In this context, new generation
nuclear reactors wil soon be connected to European electricity grids, others are already planned and
the extension of existing nuclear reactors have become a priority for many Member States, such jointly
recommended by the IEA and IEAE. At the same time, a new generation of smal modular reactors with
easier construction and diverse technological solutions is emerging, proving that the European nuclear
industry is constantly innovating and developing new technologies. This is al the more important for
the European Union’s carbon neutrality as the wind and solar power, for example, need this kind of
stable electricity production to complement low emission energy production and to ensure stability of
the European electricity system. If nuclear power were to be discriminated in this context, then
complementary energy production to renewables would remain based on fossil fuel sources. The IPCC
has repeatedly reiterated that nuclear power is an indispensable part of the solution to the climate
chal enge.
It must also be recognized that clean energy and renewable energy is not enough when we are at the
same time experiencing a leap in digitalisation and transport that wil require an increased amount of
electrical energy.
In this perspective, and because we are convinced that nuclear energy is indispensable for achieving
Europe's climate objectives, we wish to draw your attention to the imperative of including nuclear
energy in the European taxonomy project. This taxonomy, once implemented, should provide
investors with reliable information on activities and technologies that contribute to sustainability
objectives. However, while the expert group has acknowledged the decarbonised nature of nuclear
power generation, it has so far denied access to sustainable finance under a DNSH (Do Not Significantly
Harm) criterion for nuclear waste management. There is, however, an international consensus (USA,
Japan, Canada, Russia, China, Finland, Sweden, France) on the solution of geological disposal and
already advanced projects which, after decades of scientific research. This exclusion of nuclear power
from the European taxonomy would have a strong impact not only on the European nuclear industry
but also on all European industries using nuclear electricity, especially electro-intensive ones. This
exclusion, if it were to be decided, would not meet the important criterion of technological neutrality.
We therefore urge the European Commission to fol ow up on the possibility opened by the TEG to
allow a fair assessment of nuclear energy with regard to the DNSH criteria and also to take into
consideration that any delay in including nuclear power in the taxonomy would send a negative signal
to the financial community and would not allow equity in access to funding and financial tools for
European recovery.
We are convinced that Europe's low-carbon energy transition cannot deprive itself of the advantage
of nuclear power, at the very least for those Member States that wish to do so. The employees of the
European nuclear industry that we represent are ready to play their part and contribute to the success
of a just, efficient and fair low-carbon transition.
We therefore call on you and the entire European Commission to initiate a dialogue with the purpose
of creating the conditions for nuclear energy to play its full potential in the central objective of the
Green Deal, namely, to build a carbon-free Europe by 2050.
Respectfully yours,
Belgian Energy Federation of Managers
, Energy responsible