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‘No greenwashing’: Fossil gas and nuclear must not be defined as clean, ministers tell IEA summit

No greenwashing’: Fossil gas and nuclear must not be defined as clean, ministers tell IEA summit    Medium- and long-term policy clarity is essential to attract the private finance needed to reach net zero by 2050, event hears Recharge   31 March 2021 By Leigh Collins   Greenwashing must be eliminated, fossil gas and nuclear must not be labelled as green technologies, and long-term policy clarity will be essential in order to finance the energy transition and reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency-COP26 Net Zero Summit was told on Wednesday.

“We know we are at the crossroads in [20]21 — the decisions we make today will decide if we deliver on the Paris Agreement or not, and we are the last generation of politicians who can deliver on the Paris Agreement,” Austrian energy and climate minister Leonore Gewessler told the event’s Mobilising Clean Energy Investment panel.

“We know the transition will not be for free. We know it will be even more expensive if we invest in the wrong things, if we choose not to act… As the challenge is big, as it won’t be for free, I think there’s one thing we cannot afford — that’s greenwashing.

“It’s crucial to avoid lock-in effects, [and] stranded investment, so we need clear and consistent frameworks that will be important to ensure the confidence and the transparency on the financial markets and thereby also reduce greenwashing.”

Defining what is or isn’t green energy — particularly inside the EU — will be key, she added, referring to fears that the European Commission will officially label fossil gas and nuclear power as sustainable energy solutions.

“I think it’s really key that we provide clear and scientifically sound basis for defining what’s a sustainable economic activity. It must not be open to greenwashing, it must also not be open to whether gas or nuclear can be defined as green in the taxonomy, no matter whether they replace coal or not.

“I think we really must make sure that we invest in renewables and efficiency as the most important alternatives.

Claude Turmes, energy minister of Luxembourg, a notable financial centre, agreed

“EU taxonomy is very, very important… we had a good decision a year ago [in the European Commission’s Energy System Integration Strategy] where we were science-based, and now we risk to go from a science-based system to a lobby-based system where fossil energy comes back, nuclear would enter. …………  https://www.rechargenews.com/energy-transition/-no-greenwashing-fossil-gas-and-nuclear-must-not-be-defined-as-clean-ministers-tell-iea-summit/2-1-990400

April 2, 2021 - Posted by Christina MacPherson | Uncategorized