The Economic and Environmental committees have rejected the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the green taxonomy. The text now goes to a vote in the European Parliament.
On Tuesday 14 June, at a joint meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (Econ) and the Committee on the Environment (Envi), MEPs rejected the European Commission's proposal to include nuclear energy and gas in the European taxonomy — that is, the list of economic activities considered environmentally sustainable.
With 76 votes in favour, 62 against and 4 abstentions, MEPs acknowledged that fossil gas and nuclear cannot guarantee a sustainable energy supply within the ecological transition.
According to the MEPs on the two committees, the inclusion of the two sources in particular does not meet the criteria set out in Article 3 of the taxonomy regulation adopted in June 2020. The latter establishes the standards that must be met for an investment to be considered environmentally sustainable.
The resolution adopted on 14 June also calls for every new delegated act or amendment to a similar measure to be subject first to a public consultation and an impact assessment, both from an environmental and a socio-economic standpoint.
The text must now be put to a vote in the European Parliament's plenary session, during the session scheduled between 4 and 7 July. Parliament and the European Council have until 11 July 2022 to decide whether to veto the Commission's proposal. If an absolute majority of MEPs (353) opposes the Commission's proposal, it will be required to withdraw or amend it.