The UK government said today it would move to classify nuclear energy as “green” to be on par with renewable energy, media reported.

It comes as EU leaders debate if they too should give nuclear power the designation, despite the fact that nuclear is a zero-emissions energy source for much of the continent.

The Financial Times of London reported the UK government said it would include nuclear in the UK’s green taxonomy — a system used by investors to determine whether an investment is counted as sustainable or not.

The government said it would consult on the green taxonomy in the autumn, proposing that nuclear be included because it is a “key technology within our pathways to reach net zero”.

French President Macron has argued nuclear power should absolutely be classified as green, however German Chancellor Olaf Scholz disagreed.

France generates nearly 70% of electricity from a huge fleet of nuclear power plants.

Meanwhile, Germany has been attempting to shut down its existing fleet – with the Green party, members of the Scholz coalition against the clean source of energy.

Classifying nuclear as green would give the industry access to privileged funding arrangments and tax incentives.

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president suggested small modular nuclear reactors would getprivilegedd funding under any deal.

More to come