The German Atomic Forum has been awarded the Worst EU Greenwash Award 2007 for “the most audacious attempts to gain unjustifiable green credentials”. It was nominated for a campaign that set out to improve the image of nuclear energy, using the slogan: “Germany’s unloved climate protectionists”, and depicting nuclear power stations in unspoiled and unpolluted natural environments.
“The German Atomic Forum took advantage of the public’s concern about climate change to promote nuclear energy,” says Ulrich Mueller from LobbyControl. “The one-sided ads use idyllic pictures of nature to gain public acceptance of longer lifespans for old nuclear power plants, ignoring the associated risks. The victory of the German Atomic Forum for worst greenwash shows that the public will not be conned by these attempts to gain unwarranted green credentials.”
The Worst EU Greenwash Award was a special award attached to the Worst EU Lobbying Awards. The winners of the lobbying awards went to BMW, Daimler and Porsche for attempting to delay and water-down the EU mandatory targets for CO2 emissions from cars.