Portuguese environment minister: EU should not fund ‘unsafe’ nuclear projects

The EU should not fund nuclear energy projects because they are unsafe, unsustainable, and cost a lot of money, Environment and Climate Action Minister, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, said at an event on the sidelines of the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow.

Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, Austria, and Denmark presented a joint statement advocating nuclear-free EU energy projects at the event.

EU funding should be directed to other options, mainly wind and solar energy, Matos Fernandes stressed.

“All the money put into nuclear energy is money that should be put into renewable energy, and that is what the world needs. We need energy, but that doesn’t come from fossil [fuels]. And we need energy that does not have nuclear waste,” he said.

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said nuclear energy could not solve the climate crisis because it is too risky, slow, and not sustainable.

Currently, about 12% of Germany’s electricity comes from nuclear and half from renewable sources.

(Bruno Manteigas | Lusa.pt)