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MEPs say gas and nuclear investments can be labelled as ‘green’
13/7/2022
News
The European Parliament has voted in favour of a European Commission (EC) proposal for gas and nuclear to be included in Europe’s ‘green taxonomy’ from 2023.
The EC believes ‘there is a role for private investment in gas and nuclear activities in the green transition’, and had proposed that ‘specific nuclear and gas energy activities, under certain conditions’, could be included in the list of environmentally sustainable economic activities covered by the EU Taxonomy, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation.
The inclusion of the ‘activities’ is time-limited and dependent on specific conditions and transparency requirements.
Some 328 MEPs voted in favour of the move, falling short of the 353 votes needed to block the new rules.
The Taxonomy regulation is part of the EC’s action plan on financing sustainable growth and aims to boost green investments.
Nuclear and natural gas projects could now have access to subsidies and cheaper loans as a result.
There was an outcry from environmental campaigners and some countries following the vote, with Austria and Luxembourg reportedly planning to bring legal action in the European Court of Justice against what they called a ‘greenwashing programme’.
