PO and PiS together for support for gas. Activists: Outrageous, we’re disappointed

The letter to the European Commission is an initiative of Jerzy Buzek (PO) and Bogdan Rzońca (PiS). As he says, he was supported by a total of almost 80 MEPs from six different political groups, from the EPP (it belongs to the PO and PSL), through the left-wing S&D, to the right-wing ECR.

In Brussels, work is underway on the project of the EU taxonomy, i.e. the principles of financing sustainable development. In simple terms, it is about which projects will be considered “green” and will be able to receive EU funding as part of an effort to stop climate change. In the initial proposal it was proposed that both have supporters, but also staunch opponents.

The letter from Buzek and Rzońca called for gas to be treated as a “transition fuel” on the way to a completely emission-free energy sector. They argue that gas and nuclear energy will facilitate the move away from more emitting coal. “A properly designed taxonomy delegated act should allow for a rapid replacement of coal with natural gas as a transitional solution where other options are limited, and the expansion of nuclear power plants,” they write. About 30 Polish MEPs signed the letter, including Marek Belka, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Bogusław Liberadzki, Leszek Miller, Radosław Sikorski, Ewa Kopacz, Patryk Jaki, Beata Mazurek and Beata Kempa.

“Scandal”

Before that, there were three Polish climate activists in Strasbourg: Maya Ozbayoglu, Mateusz Orzechowski and Michał Grzywa.

As Ozbayoglu tweeted, the activists met with some of the MEPs signed to the letter. “We clearly and explicitly called for them to reject the inclusion of natural gas in the taxonomy. It is a scandal that this is followed by such an appeal,” she said.

Climate activists write in the article that “the plan to finance another fossil fuel, instead of allocating money for a green transition, we consider scandalous and we are deeply disappointed that the people we met in Strasbourg signed this letter.” They added that “there is still a long way to go for politicians and politicians to start putting the good of the people above the poles of support in the polls. However, it is about our future, so our fight continues”.

What will the EU consider green?

What exactly is the controversial taxonomy? – It’s just an inventory of technologies that can be considered environmentally sustainable. In other words: those that significantly reduce emissions and are environmentally friendly –

This inventory is a kind of recommendation for financial institutions to borrow money for an investment and whether they can mark it as “green” in their annual reports. If a technology does not make it into the taxonomy, it can be more difficult to obtain external financing for it – not only from the European Investment Bank but also from commercial lenders. Lack of a given technology in the taxonomy will not mean that its use will be prohibited, but financing the construction of a given investment will be much more difficult.

Why are the two technologies particularly controversial? – Gas emits greenhouse gases anyway. In the case of nuclear power plants, apart from the safety during the use of the installation, the concerns concern the need to obtain fuel and then to store radioactive waste – said Kowalczyk.