Stockholm (NordSIP) – Discussions are heating up in Brussels ahead of the upcoming vote on the European Commission’s proposal to include specific nuclear and gas energy activities in the list of environmentally sustainable economic activities covered by the EU Taxonomy. On 14 June, two of the European Parliament’s lead committees, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, issued a joint objection to the proposal. Seventy-six Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted against labelling nuclear and gas green, with sixty-two supporting the Commission’s proposal and four abstaining.
In their statement, the committees recognise the role of nuclear and fossil gas in guaranteeing a stable energy supply during the transition to a sustainable economy. However, they deem that the technical screening standards proposed by the Commission fail to respect the criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities as stated in Article 3 of the Taxonomy Regulation. Moreover, the MEPs behind the objection request that any new or amended delegated acts be subject to a public consultation and impact assessments, as they could have significant economic, environmental, and social impacts.
“MEPs have sent a clear message: No more labelling fossil gas as green and no more gifts to Putin,” comments Luca Bonaccorsi, sustainable finance director at European NGO Transport and Environment. “Overturning the proposal would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago. This is a clear sign that the tide has turned, and it isn’t impossible to imagine a complete rejection of the proposal when the whole of the Parliament comes together in July,” he adds.
The resolution is scheduled for a vote during the European Parliament’s plenary session on 4-7 July 2022. The Parliament and the Council have until 11 July 2022 to decide whether to veto the Commission’s proposal. If an absolute majority of MEPs (353) objects to the Commission’s proposal, the Commission will have to withdraw or amend it. It looks like it is going to be a hot July in Brussels.
