Nuclear making Europe fit for 55

Brussels, 14 July 2021: FORATOM welcomes the Commission’s Fit for 55 package and fully supports all proposals which aim to reduce CO2 emissions in line with the Climate Law and Paris Agreement. Indeed, the bar has been set very high as it will apply to a broad range of sectors including industry, buildings and transport.

“Achieving this target will not be easy – many aspects need to be taken into consideration to ensure that, in the race to decarbonisation, other problems do not arise”, states Yves Desbazeille, FORATOM Director General.

For example:

• How will be this transition financed? 
• Will we have enough low-carbon energy to meet our needs? 
• How can we ensure that industries are able to decarbonise their manufacturing processes whilst remaining competitive?  
• And how can we mitigate potential social impacts (eg job losses, energy poverty)? 

“Nuclear has a key role to play in this transition, together with other low-carbon technologies” adds Mr Desbazeille. “It is a low-carbon source of energy, thus helping European achieve its decarbonisation targets. It is also affordable and available 24/7, two key attributes when it comes to finding competitive solutions for energy-intensive industries in Europe”.

The nuclear sector remains committed to working with the EU and supporting technology neutral policies which will help us achieve these ambitious goals. Furthermore, and as highlighted in the latest IEA and OECD NEA report entitled ‘Projected Costs of Generating Electricity 2020’, the long-term operation of nuclear power plants remains the cheapest source of electricity across the board. Therefore, prolonging the existing fleet would be the best way of achieving the 2030 targets in an affordable manner.

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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.