TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) call for Taiwan to pursue nuclear power, citing the European Union’s taxonomy of the energy as “green” has been criticized as misleading by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Ma on Saturday (July 16) urged the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration to revisit what he called its “rigid” policy of a non-nuclear future by referencing the EU’s recent decision to label the source of energy as sustainable. Tsai has vowed to carve out a carbon-neutral path by 2050 through a shift to renewables.

Ma’s suggestion was criticized by MOEA as misguided as he failed to clarify the stringent conditions required by the EU to adopt nuclear power. Some of the tricky issues pertain to radioactive waste management, which is a challenge for a densely-populated country that is prone to earthquakes like Taiwan.

Saying the statement was taken out of context, the ministry noted Ma’s over-reliance on nuclear power and a dismissive attitude toward renewables is simply not plausible for Taiwan and the survival of industries like the semiconductor sector, wrote CNA.

As of May, renewables had accounted for 20.4% of Taiwan’s total installed power capacity, according to MOEA.

Members of the EU have been divided over the classification of natural gas and nuclear energy. Earlier this month, the bloc voted to include the two sources in the list of sustainable activities, paving the way for more investment in both. The move has infuriated environmentalists and sparked an outcry over what some denounce as “greenwashing,” per AP.