Portugal among signees to exclude nuclear energy from EU funding at COP26

Portugal and several European countries signed on Thursday a declaration that excludes nuclear energy from energy sources considered sustainable, arguing that it cannot receive European funding, announced the environment minister.

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain and Luxembourg are among the signatories of the document, which will be presented during the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), being held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Speaking to Portuguese journalists at the summit, João Pedro Matos Fernandes said that it was “absolutely essential to guarantee that European money, even for projects within Europe, is exclusively for energy projects that are considered sustainable.”

“We want to make it clear that there are a number of countries, including some that have nuclear power, as is the case of Spain, that feel that it is one thing to use nuclear energy, and even to admit some nuclear projects, but there is no way it can be considered sustainable in order to obtain EU funds for construction,” he stressed.

Matos Fernandes noted that there are divergent positions regarding energy production from nuclear sources, the most notable of which is France – whose energy production depends on two-thirds of nuclear sources – and some eastern countries.