• The European Commission has included gas and nuclear energy in the green taxonomy
• At the preparatory meeting, six commissioners voted against, among them Frans Timmermans, the "father" of the Green Deal
• The Commission also ignored the findings of several experts, who argued that the conditions set for gas and nuclear in the taxonomy are insufficient

The verdict has finally arrived. And "green" it is not. The European Commission has admitted gas and nuclear energy into the taxonomy, that is, the list of economic activities considered sustainable and compatible with the climate objectives set at EU level. Such businesses will be able to access financing more easily: hence the efforts by the fossil fuel and nuclear lobbies to persuade Brussels not to exclude the two energy sources.

In the document presented on 2 February, the Commission largely reproduced the draft sent to member states on 31 December 2021. It represents a compromise favourable to those who wanted to buy time and abandon gas as late as possible (Germany) and to those who wanted to continue operating nuclear power plants (France). It is unquestionably a downward compromise for the climate and the environment.

"A robbery attempt is under way," was the immediate reaction of Ariadna Rodrigo of Greenpeace Europe. "Someone is trying to take billions of euros away from renewables and throw them at technologies that, like nuclear and fossil gas, do nothing to tackle the climate crisis or actively make the problem worse. To find those responsible, you need look no further than the European Commission: some people are merely pretending to take the environmental and climate emergency seriously."

Who had said 'no' to gas and nuclear in the taxonomy

The compromise came after, on 1 February, during the preparatory meeting, six commissioners, representing as many member states, had declared themselves opposed to the adoption of the delegated act. It was a split the executive led by Ursula von der Leyen had never faced before.

The most critical voice was that of the Dutch Frans Timmermans, the "father" of the Green Deal, followed by Austria's Johannes Hahn, Luxembourg's Nicolas Schmit, Denmark's Margrethe Vestager, Lithuania's Virginijus Sinkevičius (who holds the environment and oceans portfolio within the Commission) and Portugal's Elisa Ferreira.

According to reports by several outlets, the representatives opposed to the content of the delegated act criticised the Commission's decision, warning that including gas and nuclear in the taxonomy jeopardises the Green Deal objectives and green investments.

The conditions set by the new measures are insufficient

Estonian commissioner Kadri Simson took a different view, arguing that many states would not be able to achieve the Green Deal objectives without the transitional support of gas (as is the case for Italy) and nuclear, from a technical, economic and social standpoint (as recent electricity bill increases would seem to demonstrate).

On the subject of gas, several commissioners defended the decision to introduce an emissions threshold of 270 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour (or an annual average of 550 kg of CO2e per kilowatt-hour) of energy produced by the facility's capacity over 20 years, as evidence that this also helps the more "backward" economies in green investments. But these thresholds far exceed the scientific recommendations of the Commission's technical expert group. Moreover, the fact that permitted emissions are averaged over 20 years creates a loophole: a project emitting more than 550 kg of CO2e per kW per year can still be taxonomy-compliant if developers pledge to reduce emissions over time, for example through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, which are not yet commercially viable.

The announcement coincides with the publication of a report by the think tank InfluenceMap, revealing how major energy companies and their industry associations are spreading messages designed to 'politicise' science-based policies and secure a future for fossil gas. The document highlights that these lobbying efforts come from several European energy giants, including Equinor, TotalEnergies, Gazprom, Repsol, BP, Engie and Royal Dutch Shell.

Nuclear proponents are not satisfied

The same commissioners noted that new nuclear power plants will only be permitted if they are next-generation (while older ones will be able to count on a surplus of activity only if they convert to third-generation cycles). These conditions were deemed insufficient by several expert groups, including the Platform for Sustainable Finance, established by the European Union to draw up the list of green activities.

Although nuclear energy has now been admitted among "environmentally compatible" sources, there is no shortage of difficulties in implementing what the delegated act envisages. Nuclear proponents (especially French ones) have pointed out that it will be very difficult to meet the deadlines set by the measure, which requires the requested modifications to existing plants to be made by 2040, or new nuclear projects to be completed by 2045.

Furthermore, an additional requirement under the delegated act stipulates that new nuclear plant projects must use the so-called "accident tolerant fuel" or accident tolerant fuel. For Foratom, the association bringing together nuclear energy industries in Europe, such a requirement should only come into force once these fuels are available on the market.

Greenpeace EU @GreenpeaceEU

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The EU Commission's move to include gas and nuclear in the #EUTaxonomy today is an attempted robbery, diverting billions in private cash from real clean energy like renewables

This is shameless #greenwashing, and MEPs should now reject it

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The next steps for the taxonomy

The measure (known as the Complementary delegated act) establishing what is environmentally compatible and what is not has now been approved despite the opposition of the six commissioners. Among those in favour was Italy, which criticised not the substance but the method chosen to draw up this delegated act: Italy is among the countries that would have introduced additional bands of "intermediate pollution".

However, this would have caused a further delay, deemed unacceptable by the Commission president. The Commission now passes the ball to the European Parliament and Council. The two bodies will have four months (extendable to six) and, if they deem it necessary, may raise objections. To do so in the Council, a "reinforced" majority of opposing countries is required: at least 20 states representing 65 per cent of the European population.

But the main political battle is expected to take place in the European Parliament, where MEPs have already expressed feeling sidelined by the European Commission. Parliament will be able to raise objections if the text receives a negative vote from a majority of its members in plenary session (i.e. at least 353 MEPs). Once the scrutiny period is over and if neither co-legislator raises objections, the complementary delegated act will enter into force and will apply from 1 January 2023.