About: Taxonomy Archives

The European Commission was forced to delay publication of detailed implementing rules on the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy because of the sheer number of comments received and a threat of blockage from eastern and southern EU member states, EURACTIV can reveal.

French and Dutch securities regulators called on Tuesday (15 December) for European Union rules to prevent "greenwashing" or inaccurate claims that investments are sustainable and climate-friendly.

The European Commission will present in early 2021 an “ambitious” sustainable finance strategy to mobilise the private investment needed to meet the EU’s climate targets.

Meeting the climate target requires rapid realignment and mobilisation of finance at a massive scale. To avoid greenwashing, the EU's sustainable finance taxonomy needs to establish screening criteria, rooted in science and linked to the metrics of climate change, writes Peter Sweatman.

Some of the draft emission thresholds contained in the EU's sustainable finance taxonomy are not aligned with climate neutrality and deviate from scientific evidence, raising concerns about political and industry pressure, write Tsvetelina Kuzmanova and Sara Dethier.

The European Commission on Friday (20 November) launched "the world’s first ever ‘green-list’" of sustainable economic activities for private investors by publishing draft guidelines under the EU's green finance taxonomy.

The European Commission’s sustainable finance taxonomy bears all the hallmarks of failed governance: opacity, imprecision, and subjectivity with a punitive approach albeit not assumed, writes Daniel Guéguen. In short, it’s an Orwellian mechanism, he argues.

The manufacturing of plastics can be considered a "sustainable" economic activity in Europe provided that they are “fully manufactured by mechanical recycling of plastic waste” or by chemical recycling  processes if minimum emission standards are met, according to a leaked EU proposal seen by EURACTIV.

Money talks, but it also needs to listen: listen to the demand for change for a financial system that takes account of non-financial issues, from climate change to social inclusion, writes Commissioner Mairead McGuinness.

From January 2026, all cars sold in Europe will need to emit zero grams of CO2 per kilometre in order to be considered "sustainable" under the EU's green finance taxonomy, according to a leaked draft seen by EURACTIV.

Power plants fuelled by natural gas will not be classed as “sustainable” or “transition” investments in Europe unless they meet emission limits which are so low that none are currently able to comply, according to draft EU rules seen by EURACTIV.

Since the publication of the Sustainable Finance Package in 2018, the European Commission has sent clear messages to investors in Europe that the financial sector must not harm the planet and its citizens, and must avoid green washing. The objectives of …

30% of the EU's €1.8 trillion budget and recovery plan for 2021-2027 will be made available for the green transition. That amount is no longer up for negotiation and the focus must now shift to spending it well, said Kadri Simson, the EU's energy commissioner.

The European Commission will detail in the coming weeks what could be considered a ‘green’ activity, a technical definition that would help to unlock the massive investment needed to achieve the EU's climate objectives.

The EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy should be systematically applied to track green investments in the bloc’s next long-term budget and coronavirus recovery fund, which together amount to €1.8 trillion over the next seven years, according to a new report launched on Wednesday (28 October).

The gas and nuclear industries have ramped up lobbying to secure last-ditch changes to European rules defining which investments are sustainable, fearing that exclusion from a new “green” list could deprive them of billions of dollars of funding.

In order to make the post-pandemic recovery as sustainable as possible, long-term green investments will be in hot demand. Participants at a virtual conference called “Investing post-COVID: is a green recovery assured?” called for more opportunities and a viable framework.

The European Commission is looking into whether nuclear energy can be classed as a sustainable green investment. But the EU executive's decision to task its research centre with the assessment has already prompted criticism. EURACTIV Germany reports.

As policymakers turn their attention to the economic recovery post-COVID, there is a risk that investments in a green recovery may be side-lined.

Reporting on greenhouse gas emissions should become mandatory "as soon as possible" for companies with more than 250 employees, argues Michèle Lacroix, an EU expert who helped design the EU's landmark green finance taxonomy.

The EU economic recovery plan presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 27 May will also be based on the so-called taxonomy which gives priority to sectors in the field of low-carbon transition. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The European Union's proposed €750 billion fund to help the bloc recover from the coronavirus crisis will have green strings attached, with 25% of all funding set aside for climate action, the European Commission has said.

EU policymakers are promoting a green recovery. A public-private agency rating companies’ climate performance would help keep it on track, argue Steven Tebbe and Laurent Babikian.