Seoul [South Korea], September 21: The South Korean government has officially announced that it has included nuclear power generation in 'eco-friendly economic activities.'
Although it is not a true eco-friendly economic activity, the government has also designated nuclear power plant technologies such as small module nuclear reactor (SMR) and accident tolerant fuel (ATF) as 'transitional economic activities for carbon neutrality."
On the 20th, the Environment Ministry unveiled a revision to the green economic activities classification (Green Taxonomy), which includes nuclear power plants.
As the current government has emphasized the importance of nuclear power to achieve carbon neutrality and secure energy security, it is newly added to the green taxonomy this time.
As EU recently include nuclear power plants in the green taxonomy despite strict conditions, voices for Korea to include nuclear power in the taxonomy have been also growing.
However, controversy is expected to continue as nuclear power plants have problems such as safety and waste that are far from solved.
The green taxonomy is a national standard that stipulates which economic activities is eco-friendly, and is particularly important because it determines green investment. Banks participating in the pilot investment project currently provide low-interest loans to eco-friendly businesses included in the green taxonomy.
In the revision of the green taxonomy, SMR, next-generation nuclear power plants that produce and supply electricity while minimizing radioactive waste, ATF, nuclear waste management, small nuclear plants for space and ocean, and improvement of nuclear safety and facility reliability have been included.
Source: Global Economic Reporter
