The Environment Committee (ENVI) and the Economic Affairs Committee (ECON) of the European Parliament are objecting to the way the European Commission is attempting to classify nuclear energy and gas as sustainable energy.
In a letter to the European Commission, the chairs of both MEP committees express their objection to the vague manner in which the so-called taxonomy law is being developed. On the last day of last year, the EU Commissioners for Climate, Energy, Taxation, and Economic Affairs announced that nuclear energy and natural gas may be classified as environmentally friendly under certain conditions.
Bas Eickhout (GroenLinks), chair of the Environment Committee, believes the European Parliament must apply the brakes before the EU Commissioners take further steps.
According to Eickhout, the European Commission prepared the controversial decision in behind-the-scenes talks with European heads of government. The taxonomy decision determines which investments can be labeled as 'climate-friendly' and 'sustainable'. For investments that do not meet these criteria, no EU subsidy should be paid anymore.
In practice, this eventually means an end to government subsidies for nuclear power plants and electricity plants fueled by natural gas. Governments investing their own money in nuclear power plants could also come into conflict with the European taxonomy.
The two EP committees are requesting more time to review the Commission's plan. They also call for an impact study (regarding the financial and economic consequences), as is customary for important legislative proposals.
Eickhout states that, aside from procedural objections, the Commission's intention also politically and substantively does not align with the mandate that the parliamentary groups gave the European Commission in 2019. However, it remains to be seen whether the MEPs from the three largest 'coalition groups' agree with this.
"The Commission may only classify economic activities as sustainable if this fits within the limits of the taxonomy law. Instead, the Commission is now abusing this law to carry out a political wish of some member states," the Dutch GroenLinkser claims.
According to him, sustainable investments are not helped by the great legal uncertainty investors face if nuclear energy and gas are still classified as sustainable on a dubious legal basis, it is said.
The plan to classify nuclear energy and gas as sustainable has not yet been approved by the full College of Commissioners. If the European Commission pushes the decision through, a qualified majority of member states or an absolute majority of the European Parliament can reject the decision.
(update: in the previous version of this article, there was mistakenly mention of 'hearings by the European Parliament')