After the decision in the EU parliament, Austrian politicians are dismayed that gas and nuclear energy should be classified as climate-friendly investments. Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) now wants to fulfill her threat to prosecute. “We have been preparing intensively for this case over the past weeks and months and will file our lawsuit within the time limit,” she said.
The decision on the so-called taxonomy regulation does not do justice to the European efforts for a good and climate-friendly future, Gewessler justified her action in a broadcast. “It is not credible, ambitious or knowledge-based, jeopardizes our future and is beyond irresponsible.” Once this “greenwashing program” comes into effect, the annulment proceedings already prepared will be submitted to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the minister said on Wednesday.
Luxembourg wants to participate in the lawsuit
According to Gewessler, Luxembourg has already agreed to participate in a lawsuit. “We will continue to use the coming weeks and months to get more allies.” Environmental groups and Austrian MEPs also strongly criticized the regulation and the outcome of the vote.
“Today is a bad day for climate protection, nuclear energy is not green or sustainable,” said EU MP Othmar Karas (ÖVP) of the vote. For Karas and his colleague Alexander Berhnhuber, it is a missed opportunity to create more tailwind for investments in sustainable energy. Karas called on the European Commission to come up with a proposal that eliminates gas and nuclear energy as sustainable investments. “Europe should not rely on nuclear energy or on Russian gas,” said the European Parliament’s First Vice-President.
“Greenwashing” and “false labelling”
SPÖ MEPs Evelyn Regner and Günther Sidl also regretted the vote. The classification of nuclear power and gas as sustainable is “greenwashing par excellence!” it said in a broadcast. Instead, the EU’s focus should be on expanding renewables. FPÖ-EU mandate Georg Mayer was also dissatisfied after the vote. The “false labelling” illustrates the Commission’s mistake.
For Green MEP Thomas Waitz, the result of the vote is even “a betrayal of the climate movement and a misnomer,” he said in a broadcast. “Conservatives and liberals” would have taken care of that. “The EU is jeopardizing its international credibility as a global pioneer in climate protection.” NEOS member Claudia Gamon also reacted with great disappointment. “This misnomer not only threatens our energy transition, but also flushes billions into Putin’s war chest,” said Gamon.
“Will fight in court”
Environmental organization Greenpeace was also shocked: “This is an outrageous result that we will challenge in court. The gas and nuclear lobby will not prevail,” said Lisa Panhuber, spokeswoman for Greenpeace Austria. Gas and nuclear energy are never green. is considering a lawsuit. “This is a major setback for European climate policy,” criticized Jakob Mayr, an expert on sustainable finance at WWF Austria.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
