Teresa Ribera faces nuclear hurdle to running EU green policy

BRUSSELS — On paper, the European Union’s leading candidate to guide green policy for the next five years has it all: decades of experience, endless high-profile contacts and a shining reputation. 

There’s just one problem: Teresa Ribera is a hardened nuclear skeptic.

The former U.N. climate negotiator, who until recently served as Spain’s deputy prime minister, shepherded the closure of her country’s atomic reactors, railed against the cost of nuclear power and called the EU’s decision to label it a sustainable investment a “big mistake.”

That’s prompting worries among pro-atomic European Parliament members and EU countries that Spain’s top climate official could scupper plans to expand the buildout of nuclear power across the bloc just as the industry is riding a fresh wave of political momentum. France, where a hegemonic nuclear industry provides roughly 70 percent of the country’s electricity, is likeliest to cause a stir.

Those anxieties will likely play out on the public stage this fall, when Ribera is expected to face Parliament at her EU commissioner confirmation hearing. She’ll inevitably get pointed questions about whether she’d constrain a nuclear resurgence. And her answers could make or break her candidacy, as nuclear support unites politicians from numerous political families.

“In every political group, there are those that won’t vote for someone who’d be a vocal opponent of the nuclear cause,” said pro-nuclear French MEP Christophe Grudler, a member of the centrist Renew Europe group who could eventually be one of the lawmakers deciding Ribera’s fate.

“A Commissioner … is here to implement the Commission’s program — there’s no place for personal feelings,” he added. “She’ll have to just get on board … and I can assure you we’ll make sure she gets on board.”

A French government minister even conceded to POLITICO that his country — the EU’s most high-profile and vocal nuclear advocate — “is trying to ensure that energy does not go to someone anti-nuclear.”

Nuclear fallout

The race to become the EU’s next energy chief comes amid a new wave of excitement around nuclear, and at a critical moment for an industry that argues it’s long been forgotten in Brussels.

That moment came in 2022, when Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine sent the EU searching for new energy sources. Many have since settled on nuclear power as a useful option. 

Teresa Ribera would also become the driving force behind a suggested “Nuclear Act.” | [Perre-Philippe Marcou/Getty Images

“There’s definitely momentum for nuclear in Europe,” said Coralie Laurencin, a senior director at S&P Global, with policymakers increasingly arguing that previously “discounted” technologies will be needed to zero out carbon emissions. 

Nuclear power provides around a fifth of the EU’s electricity, even though reactors are only operational in 13 of the bloc’s 27 countries. Taking advantage of the newfound interest in atomic energy, a French-backed coalition of pro-nuclear countries last year said it wants to boost EU nuclear capacity by 50 percent by 2050.

While that goal isn’t realistic, Laurencin said, more EU cash could “impact” countries’ nuclear decisions, particularly in central and eastern Europe where government budgets are tight. 

That’s where Ribera comes in. Whoever takes over as the EU’s next energy commissioner will have the power to shape Brussels’ nuclear agenda. That ranges from lobbying the EU to open its piggy bank for atomic energy, to drafting strategies that give potent political signals to investors.

Ribera would also become the driving force behind a suggested “Nuclear Act,” aimed at boosting nuclear reactors if the Commission does go ahead with the idea.

“We’re a bit concerned,” said one EU diplomat from a nuclear-supporting country, who like others for this story was granted anonymity to speak freely.

“We cannot have decarbonization without nuclear,” said a second EU diplomat, arguing that Ribera could be “challenging” for the nuclear sector.

For atomic industry figures, the next five years are an opportunity for the EU to put their sector on equal footing with renewable energy like wind and solar in Brussels’ green legislation, according to Yves Desbazeille, secretary general of the nucleareurope lobby group.

Decarbonizing the EU’s power system will be an “absolutely massive” challenge, Desbazeille said, meaning that more support from Brussels “will be essential for Europe to meet its general targets.” 

Ursula von der Leyen recently said she wants the Green Deal to proceed with “technology neutrality.” | Frederick Florin/Getty Images

If the French nuclear industry could pick, one lobbyist said, it would likely prefer someone like Jozef Síkela, the Czech Republic’s choice for EU commissioner who is currently the country’s industry (and energy) minister.

Spain’s ecological ministry declined to comment.

Brussels battle

The fight would likely come to a head this fall, when Ribera would face an MEP grilling to secure her job.

Depending on Ribera’s specific portfolio, she could end up before the Parliament’s powerful industry and energy committee or its environment committee — or both.

If committee leaders disagree over whether Ribera is well-suited for the job, it could go to a committee vote. Occasionally, lawmakers do reject commissioner candidates, disqualifying them from the role. 

There’s no guarantee, of course, that Ribera will be given a broad green policy portfolio for the next five years. 

While Ribera has repeatedly expressed interest in the role, the final call rests with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. The EU chief has yet to say how she will divide up the myriad green policy issues — everything from cutting carbon emissions to keeping Europe’s manufacturers competitive. 

So Ribera could get a climate-specific role, for instance, while someone else is handed energy policy.

Even if Ribera does get an overarching green job, she’ll have to balance her personal views against Brussels’ company line, which has been increasingly nuclear-friendly. It’s a balance former Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans was able to strike, even if he was seen by some pro-atomic countries as overly skeptical of nuclear power.

Von der Leyen, for her part, recently said she wants the Green Deal to proceed with “technology neutrality” — a euphemism for giving similar focus to nuclear and renewables in lawmaking.

Nuclear proponents aren’t banking on those caveats. 

“I’m not seeing this potential nomination as positive for us, to be honest,” when it comes to Ribera, said Desbazeille, the nuclear lobbyist.

Nicolas Camut contributed reporting from Paris.