The Austrian government said on Monday it had filed a legal complaint with the European Union’s Supreme Court against the European Union’s executive branch’s plan to classify natural gas and nuclear power as sustainable energy.
Austrian Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler warned that the measure could “greenwash” nuclear and gas, despite the environmental damage they cause.
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Luxembourg, another EU member state, later announced it would back Austria in the case, adding political weight to the move.
The EU’s executive committee will next year add certain nuclear and gas plants to a list that will help investors decide which projects are sustainable.
Gewessler said the Chernobyl disasters in Ukraine and the Fukushima disasters in Japan show that nuclear power plants carry “unfathomable risks”. On the other hand, burning natural gas, a fossil fuel, adds greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere and causes climate change.
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A dozen environmental groups launched legal challenges against the European Commission’s plans in July, with the support of European Commission lawmakers.