FORATOM welcomes climate neutrality goal
Brussels, 5 March 2020: FORATOM welcomes the European Commission’s decision to enshrine the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 in its proposal for a European Climate Law.
Both the IPCC (Global Warming of 1.5°C) and the IEA (Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System) have made it very clear that decarbonisation goals cannot be achieved without nuclear energy. The European Commission (A Clean Planet for all) has also confirmed that nuclear will form the backbone of a carbon-free European power system, together with renewables. Indeed, not only is nuclear a low-carbon source of electricity, it is also affordable and available 24/7.
“FORATOM fully supports the EU’s climate neutrality goals. However, the EU’s economy will need to be radically transformed in order to achieve this”, states Yves Desbazeille, FORATOM’s Director General. “That is why it is essential that any EU policy which is developed in order to support this goal provides support to all low-carbon technologies”.
As indicated by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol upon the publication of the 2019 edition of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook “There is no single or simple way to transform global energy systems. Many technologies & fuels have a part to play across all sectors of the economy”.
“Furthermore, Member States must maintain the freedom to choose their own low-carbon energy mix. Expecting them to reduce their GHG emissions, whilst at the same time preventing them from investing in specific low-carbon technologies, such as nuclear, would be counter-productive”, adds Yves Desbazeille.
About us: The European Atomic Forum (FORATOM) is the Brussels-based trade association for the nuclear energy industry in Europe. The membership of FORATOM is made up of 15 national nuclear associations and through these associations, FORATOM represents nearly 3,000 European companies working in the industry and supporting around 1,100,000 jobs.
For more information, please contact Jessica Johnson: jessica.johnson@foratom.org.
