EU Taxonomy: Experts fight back attempts to greenwash fossil gas and nuclear energy
The European Commission’s proposal to greenwash fossil gas and nuclear energy could do significant harm to the taxonomy project and risk its credibility.
By Honey Kohan
The EU Taxonomy was originally created with the goal to provide clear, transparent, and science-based standards for sustainable investments. But what was supposed to be the standard against greenwashing continues down the path of becoming the greenwashing tool. BirdLife Europe is a member of the European Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance sharing expertise on what this regulation should look like.
On New Year’s Eve, the European Commission sent out a new proposal to classify nuclear energy and fossil gas as transition activities in the EU Taxonomy. The Commission says this is a necessary adjustment to help some EU countries transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
This development follows their science-deaf decision from 2021 to include forestry (logging trees) and bioenergy (burning trees and crops for energy) in the Taxonomy as they make a “significant contribution to climate mitigation” and do “no significant harm” to biodiversity.
The European Commission’s proposal to greenwash fossil gas and nuclear energy could do significant harm to the taxonomy project and risk its credibility.
Today, the Platform, which includes BirdLife’ Senior Head of Policy Ariel Brunner, has submitted its official response to the Commission proposal, strongly opposing the plan to classify nuclear energy and fossil gas as transition activities in the EU Taxonomy.
The greenwashing concerns do not stop at energy-related activities. Climate-related standards on agriculture activities are still being negotiated. If the European Commission follows up with the draft criteria they withdrew last year, factory farming and increasing livestock herds could be classified as sustainable investments. Standards on biodiversity, pollution, water and marine resources, and the transition to a circular economy will be proposed by the Platform later this year. Intense lobby pressure by vested interests is already being put on the Platform for Sustainable Finance, and on the Commission itself.
Image credit: Lukáš Lehotský / Unsplash
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