Fossil fuelled: Climate talks begin with spotlight on oil chief

(EurActiv, 5 Jun 2023) The future of fossil fuels – the leading source of planet-heating emissions – will face scrutiny at UN climate negotiations Monday (5 June) with an under-fire Emirati oil chief poised to step into the driver’s seat.

In mid-March, the European Commission presented its proposal for a regulation of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), a text adopted in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that identifies the technologies that will benefit from financial and regulatory facilities for their development.

“Nuclear power is included, and I fought for it,” Breton told lawmakers on the French Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs Committee when questioned about the NZIA on Thursday.

The Commission’s March proposal was adopted after tough last-minute negotiations with other Commissioners who were opposed to the inclusion of nuclear in the text. As a compromise, the NZIA proposal only covers innovative nuclear power – fourth generation (small modular reactors, molten salt reactor, nuclear fusion, etc.) for which there are currently no plants in production.

On top of that, nuclear will not be able to benefit from all the facilities granted to other so-called “strategic” technologies, such as solar, wind or heat pumps.

“Without nuclear power, it is impossible to achieve [the EU’s] decarbonisation objective by 2050,” said Breton, who reiterated his support for nuclear before French MPs. France has widely agreed upon the goal of reviving nuclear power.

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EurActiv, 5 Jun 2023: Fossil fuelled: Climate talks begin with spotlight on oil chief

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