Greenwashing: Austria sues nuclear and gas in the EU taxonomy
October 13, 2022 – At the beginning of the year, the European Commission laid down guidelines for sustainable and climate-friendly investments in a new taxonomy regulation. Gas and nuclear projects are affected as sustainable investments under certain conditions. Austria has now filed an action for annulment against the taxonomy before the European Court of Justice. Support comes from science, from NGOs and politicians. They fear greenwashing – and no benefit for the climate.
The supposedly green taxonomy defines environmental goals and sustainability criteria for investments that are intended to promote structural change in the EU. Investments in gas and nuclear power are recognized as sustainable in the taxonomy from 2023. The European Commission adopted the taxonomy as a delegated act earlier this year. Nuclear and gas were not originally classified as renewable technologies in the taxonomy, but added as an addition in the short term.
Sustainable investment
The appointment was met with vehement protests from NGOs and politicians. The European Parliament’s Environment (ENVI) and Economic Affairs (ECON) committees also passed resolutions recommending vetoing the taxonomy in this form. At the beginning of July this year, the EU Parliament allowed its deadline for a veto against the legal act to pass, but it was not used.
Austria and Luxembourg announced three months ago that they would seek legal action before the European Court of Justice if the EU taxonomy in this form was not stopped by Parliament. Environmental groups are calling on the federal government to follow suit. In mid-September, the environmental organizations ClientEarth, the Bund für Umwelt- und Naturschutz (BUND), the EU Policy Office of the WWF and Transport & Environment (T&E) applied to the European Commission to review the supplementary delegated act. A change in legislation since last year has allowed NGOs to request an internal legal review.
Technologies that protect the climate
Austria is now taking legal action directly. “Nuclear power is too expensive and too slow to help us fight the climate crisis. Natural gas is definitely not a green investment either. Burning natural gas and extracting and transporting it releases huge amounts of CO2 and methane. This is bad for our climate. Calling climate-damaging natural gas green is misleading, weakens the credibility of the taxonomy and is bad for the climate,” criticized the Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology Leonore Gewessler on Twitter.
Austria expressly supports the taxonomy, which is intended to promote renewable energies and climate protection. However, fossil-nuclear projects are not climate protection. The classification runs counter to scientific knowledge, confirms Gewesseler. Classification of nuclear and gas as green investments opens the door to greenwashing. jb