- Taxonomy: Green label for natural gas and nuclear power causes outrage
- Medical devices: State politics jump to the industry’s aid
- Germany shuts three of its last six nuclear plants
- Netherlands: 14 of 29 government posts go to women
- Antitrust agency investigates Amazon’s ties to brand-name manufacturers
- US transport secretary calls for postponement of 5G rollout
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Dear reader,
With the start of the new year, Germany and France have taken over the presidencies of the G7 and the EU. The governments in Berlin and Paris want to conduct the presidencies in close coordination, as Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) also stressed. But the old year wasn’t quite over yet when mail arrived from the EU Commission that isn’t exactly likely to bring harmony between the two countries.
Late on New Year’s Eve, the Commission’s amendment to the EU taxonomy reached the member states. As many observers suspected, it proposes that investments in nuclear power and natural gas should be considered sustainable under certain conditions. These are New Year’s greetings that some countries are anything but pleased to receive. Germany, which wants to complete its nuclear phase-out this year, responds with harsh criticism. Austria’s Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) is even threatening legal action. More on this in the Feature by Timo Landenberger.
Since May 2021, all new medical devices must meet the EU Medical Devices Regulation requirements. This marks the beginning of a new era for the industry. Even high-risk products had previously come onto the market without clinical trials in the majority of cases. But manufacturers and doctors warn that many products could disappear in the wake of the new regulations. As Eugenie Ankowitsch reports, the industry is now getting support from German state politicians.
I wish you a good start into the new year,
Feature
EU taxonomy: Green label for natural gas and nuclear power causes outrage
Just an hour before the turn of the year, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made good on her promise on Friday evening to send the supplement to the EU taxonomy to the member states before the end of 2021. The timing alone caused protest among critics. According to numerous Twitter posts, it was deliberately chosen to distract from the controversial content.
If that was indeed the Commission’s plan, it did not work out. Because a few hours later, the draft was discussed publicly and all the more heatedly.
Accordingly, investments in natural gas and nuclear energy are to be classified as climate-friendly, provided that the technologies meet certain requirements. This way, the Brussels authority wants to ensure that these are not considered as permanent but only as transitional solutions, as is emphasized several times in the draft. This is because the current energy mix in Europe varies greatly from one member state to another.
- Climate & Environment
- Climate Protection
- Energy
- Natural gas
- Nuclear power
- Taxonomy
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