The European Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union (EU), has included nuclear energy in its draft ‘Complementary Designated Act’ (CDA) of the EU ‘Taxonomy Regulation’ regarding green energy. The draft CDA, which had previously been leaked to the media, has now been formally released to EU member States for consultation.

(The draft CDA also includes natural gas as a green energy source, but only on a transitional basis. This means that natural gas will have to be phased out as more sustainable energy sources become available. The terminal date for the construction of taxonomy-compliant natural gas energy projects is December 31, 2030.)

Regarding nuclear, the CDA pointed out that “evidence on the potential substantial contribution of nuclear energy to climate mitigation objectives was extensive and clear”. And the document most certainly does not designate nuclear energy as transitional. Yet it also states that no new nuclear projects will be authorised after 2045, and no upgrades or life extensions of existing nuclear plants will be allowed after 2040. (Observers suspect that this internal contradiction might reflect, or be an attempt to accommodate, the deep division within the EU between pro-nuclear France and anti-nuclear Germany.)

More precisely, the draft CDA includes three aspects of nuclear energy within the taxonomy. These are – electricity generation from existing nuclear plants; the construction of advanced nuclear technology demonstration units; and the building, using the best available technologies, of new nuclear power plants.

To comply with the requirements of the taxonomy, nuclear projects must achieve a number of criteria. One of the most important of these is that new projects must indeed use the “best available technology”. What this means in practice will be reviewed every ten years by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group. All new nuclear projects must also be in full alignment with the European Nuclear Safety Directive and with the technical requirements of the Western European Nuclear Regulatory Association and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Decommissioning funds also have to be ring-fenced from the start of the project, and there must also be operational low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste disposal facilities. Regarding high-level waste, there have to be plans to set up and commission a disposal facility by 2050. And new nuclear projects must employ fuel that is accident tolerant.

Should the European Commission receive all the necessary approvals from the States and specified “platforms” within the EU, the draft CDA will then be sent to the European Parliament and the European Council for their scrutiny. These two bodies can review the draft CDA for four months and can each request an extension of another two months. Provided neither the European Parliament nor the European Council object, the draft CDA would come into force at the end of this review period.