English author Lewis Carroll would feel at home in Europe today, as European Union lawmakers voted to label nuclear energy and natural gas as “green.” Back in January, much like Humpty Dumpty, it chose to declare that nuclear power and natural gas are green if they met certain criteria: The gas projects have to replace coal, with plans in place to switch to renewables or “low carbon gases”—probably a lifeline to hydrogen—by 2035. Nuclear power has to meet special standards for dealing with waste.
Lewis Carroll in “Through the Looking Glass”
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”
Europeans have been arguing about it since it was proposed and the European Parliament vote held on July 5 was an attempt to block the decision. It failed, getting only 278 votes when 353 were needed.
And even with the limitations and qualifications, this is a big deal. Luca Bonaccorsi, sustainable finance director at Transport & Environment, said:
Greenpeace Europe’s sustainable finance campaigner Ariadna Rodrigo said in a statement:
Ukrainian climate scientist and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) member Svitlana Krakovska told The Guardian: “I am in shock. Russia’s war against Ukraine is a war paid for by climate-heating fossil fuels and the European parliament just voted to boost billions of funding to fossil gas from Russia. How in the world is that in line with Europe’s stance to protect our planet and stand with Ukraine?”
But is it such a big deal? Even the financial institutions that could now invest in gas and nuclear are choosing not to. According to the Financial Times, the European Investment Bank is ignoring the decision and other funds are as well. “In our view, fossil gas and nuclear should not have access to the same cheap financing as renewables as this inevitably will crowd out financing for the green transition, thus making its progress slower,” said Anders Schelde, chief investment officer at Danish pension fund AkademikerPension.
Energy Cities is an organization that envisions “we will all be living in decarbonized and resilient cities with access to affordable, secure and sustainable energy” by 2050. Spokesperson Adrian Hiel tells Treehugger:
Hiel continues with a very Treehugger-like approach, discussing consumption rather than production, and demand rather than supply.
The American Reaction
Notwithstanding the nuance and the limitations, the immediate reaction in the U.S. was to attack President Joe Biden and the nonexistent Green New Deal, with tweets like, “Perhaps this should have been the first move here in the US prior to killing big oil and mandating Electric Vehicles” and, “This may be among the most important policy decisions of the decade. I can only hope that the US follows EU’s lead.” People who constantly sneered at socialist Europe suddenly see it as a role model.
But even The Wall Street Journal noted this decision doesn’t open up Europe to gas:
This is most definitely not “among the most important policy decisions of the decade.” Instead, it is a compromise made to satisfy France’s nuclear ambitions, Germany’s need for gas to replace coal, and is about the inclusion of words in the European Union taxonomy—“a regulatory classification tool that helps investors, companies, and financial institutions to define environmentally sustainable economic activities.” And, as Hiel tells Treehugger, “It is far, far from the most important decision and doesn’t change the trajectory of where Europe is headed. ICE cars are dead, buildings will be renovated and renewables remain much, much cheaper.”
But we will be hearing about it every time there is a proposal to ban or limit natural gas and probably any other discussion about fossil fuels. Because as Humpty Dumpty noted, words are what you chose them to mean.
