The court added it “endorses the view that economic activities in the nuclear energy and fossil gas sectors can, under certain conditions, contribute substantially to climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation.”
The case was brought by Vienna in 2022, arguing that the inclusion of nuclear power and fossil gas breached EU law and that the Commission had neglected to carry out an impact assessment or public consultation and bypassed normal legislative processes.
Leonore Gewessler, who was then Austria’s climate and energy minister and now leads the opposition Green Party, launched the legal action after the list of green investments was published almost three years ago.
“What I oppose with all my might is the attempt to greenwash nuclear power and gas via the backdoor of a supplementary delegated act,” Gewessler said at the time. “I think it is irresponsible and unreasonable. From our point of view, it is also not legal.” The government of Luxembourg also expressed support for the case.
The ruling means that a deadlock over EU funding for conventional nuclear reactors could come to an end, and is a boon to French efforts to unlock such investments.
It also comes just after Germany last week penned an agreement with France to develop a coherent policy accepting the inclusion of atomic power in a low-carbon energy mix.
The move has created speculation that Berlin, which shuttered its own reactors in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, may stop blocking efforts to direct EU funds toward the technology.