5 civil society organisations determined to depart a European Fee-led knowledgeable group on sustainable finance, saying the EU government has interfered politically in choices such because the controversial inclusion of nuclear energy within the EU’s inexperienced finance taxonomy.
The resigning organisations are the European Shopper Organisation (BEUC), Birdlife Europe and Central Asia, Environmental Coalition on Requirements (ECOS), Transport & Atmosphere (T&E), and the World Wildlife Basis (WWF) European Coverage Workplace.
The 5 NGOs introduced their determination in a letter on Wednesday (14 September), saying the European Fee has interfered of their work and “acted in opposition to proof regardless of its authorized obligation to comply with science-based recommendation.”
“The governance of the Fee’s relationship with the Platform has been very unsatisfactory,” reads the letter despatched to Mairead McGuinness, the EU commissioner for monetary companies.
The knowledgeable group was arrange in June 2018 to help the EU government in drawing up technical standards beneath the EU’s inexperienced finance taxonomy, a rulebook aimed toward defining the applied sciences that may be labelled inexperienced investments and people who can not.
However the NGOs pointed the finger on the Fee for repeatedly ignoring the knowledgeable group’s suggestions, with out offering any scientific justification for these choices.
This was significantly noticeable when it got here to forestry, bioenergy, gas-fired energy and nuclear energy, the NGOs identified.
“European governments and lobbies have closely undermined the EU Taxonomy’s credibility, and the Fee has folded in entrance of them,” mentioned Sébastien Godinot, senior economist on the WWF’s European Coverage Workplace.
“We not imagine this Fee will enable the Platform to work independently and with integrity so we can’t be a part of this course of any longer,” he mentioned in an announcement.
The EU’s inexperienced finance taxonomy was initially set as much as stop greenwashing and assist fund managers assess whether or not their investments are in line with insurance policies such because the European Inexperienced Deal.
It gained appreciable media consideration earlier this yr when the European Fee made a proper proposal to incorporate nuclear energy and pure gasoline within the EU’s inexperienced finance rulebook, supplied they meet sure environmental standards.
The knowledgeable group on the time brazenly criticised the Fee’s determination, saying it went in opposition to their recommendation.
“We’ve executed our greatest to construct and enhance the Taxonomy framework from inside,” mentioned Mathilde Crêpy from ECOS.
“Sadly, the EU has step by step turned its again on science, and made the Taxonomy a software to advertise greenwashing in vitality era and forestry. We can not legitimise the Taxonomy with our presence within the Platform,” she mentioned.
Luca Bonaccorsi from T&E added that civil society teams would now actively marketing campaign in opposition to the taxonomy.
“After years spent attempting to construct it, now it’s the time to marketing campaign and persuade traders to not comply with it,” he mentioned.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
