Nuclear question splits EU climate talks

David Gow and Ian Traynor in Brussels
Thursday March 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Deep divisions over nuclear power and renewable energy threatened to derail the EU's campaign to assume a global leadership in the fight against climate change at the 27-strong bloc's spring summit which began last night.

Warning that "it is closer to five past midnight than five to midnight" for international measures to combat global warming, German chancellor Angela Merkel, chairing the meeting, urged EU leaders to "deliver results for our grandchildren" by making Europe the world's first low-carbon economy via a unilateral 20% cut in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

But France, backed by several east European countries, insisted that carbon-free nuclear power be included within the proposed EU energy mix and rejected Ms Merkel's proposal to make a 20% target for renewable energy binding on all 27 members.

At his swansong summit outgoing French president Jacques Chirac insisted that he would only agree to binding energy targets if nuclear power were included and proposed that 45% of the mix come from non-fossil fuel sources. France gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants.

Nuclear energy, according to draft summit conclusions, is a choice for individual EU countries but France won backing for its stance against binding renewable targets from nine other countries, including the Czechs, Poles and other ex-communist countries which believe these will damage their economic growth. Austria, Ireland, Sweden and Germany are all formally opposed to atomic energy.

Ernest-Antoine Seillière, French head of BusinessEurope, the EU's main business lobby, told Ms Merkel: "As regards binding obligations on renewables, nobody has the foggiest idea of what the costs can be - the social or financial costs." But most EU leaders accept the Stern report's conclusions that failure to tackle climate change could plunge the world into its deepest recession since 1926.

Ms Merkel, backed by Tony Blair, wants the EU to commit itself to the 20% cut before the G8 summit in early June where other industrialised countries, especially the US, and emerging economies, such as China, will be pressed to agree a 30% global cut in UN negotiations later this year on a replacement Kyoto protocol after 2012.

But green campaigners, demanding a 25% renewables target and rejecting nuclear energy outright, accused the EU of double standards and insisted it adopt the 30% target forthwith.

They said the EU would reach a 15% cut in CO2 emissions by 2012 because of the collapse of industry in its east European members and required just an extra 5% cut to hit its 2020 goal.

"A leadership role, as Merkel demands, looks quite different," Greenpeace said.