In order to reach EU targets for increasing renewable energy this decade, negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament are preparing for final negotiations on March 29.
France is preparing a new push for the inclusion of nuclear-derived fuels in the renewable energy targets of the European Union (EU), potentially setting up a conflict between nations seeking to approve the targets this month.
In order to reach more ambitious EU targets for increasing renewable energy this decade, negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament are preparing for final negotiations on March 29.
However, a disagreement over whether fuels produced using nuclear power should be included in the targets has put the effort to reduce Europe’s contribution to climate change and help countries end dependency on Russian gas in a deadlock. France is now prepared to make a new proposal on the subject.
Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have backed France’s efforts to change the law to recognise “low-carbon hydrogen,” the term used to describe hydrogen produced from nuclear energy. Germany, Spain, and Denmark are among the nations that are opposed to the idea.
They claim that the massive expansion of renewable energy that Europe needs to achieve its climate goals and replace Russian gas would be undermined by including nuclear energy in renewable energy targets.
Some EU diplomats are sceptical that a deal will be reached this month because of the differences between the countries, which could delay policy that is important to the EU’s climate change objectives.
By 2030, France wants 42% of the hydrogen used in industry to come from renewable sources, according to its most recent draught proposal. This is one of several changes the country is recommending for the targets being discussed.
The proposal, which was seen by Reuters, would reduce the amount of renewable fuels required to reach the 42% target by excluding the majority of low-carbon hydrogen from the baseline used to calculate the target.
According to France, the goal is to quickly replace hydrogen derived from fossil fuels with hydrogen that does not contribute to climate change, whether it is produced using nuclear power or renewable energy. Seven nations have rejected ideas that would have made low-carbon fuels eligible for the goals because they believed it would be an abuse of the law on renewable energy to promote non-renewable energy sources.