EU Taxonomy: Commission presents Complementary Climate Delegated Act to accelerate decarbonisation

The College of Commissioners reached a political agreement on the text, which will be formally adopted once translations are available in all EU languages.

In particular, today’s Complementary Climate Delegated Act:

• Introduces additional economic activities from the energy sector into the EU Taxonomy. The text sets out clear and strict conditions, under Article 10(2) of the Taxonomy Regulation, subject to which certain nuclear and gas activities can be added as transitional activities to those already covered by the first Delegated Act on climate mitigation and adaptation, applicable since 1 January 2022. These stringent conditions are: for both gas and nuclear, that they contribute to the transition to climate neutrality; for nuclear, that it fulfils nuclear and environmental safety requirements; and for gas, that it contributes to the transition from coal to renewables. More specific additional conditions apply for all the above activities and are specified in today’s Complementary Delegated Act.
• Introduces specific disclosure requirements for businesses related to their activities in the gas and nuclear energy sectors. To ensure transparency, the Commission has today amended the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act, so that investors can identify which investment opportunities include gas or nuclear activities and make informed choices.

Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner in charge of Financial Services, Financial Stability, and Capital Markets Union, said:

“The EU is committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and we need to use all the tools at our disposal to get there. Stepping up private investment in the transition is key to reaching our climate goals. Today we are setting out strict conditions to help mobilise finance to support this transition, away from more harmful energy sources like coal. And we are boosting market transparency so that investors will be able to easily identify gas and nuclear activities in any investment decisions.”

More information

A press release, Q&A, and factsheet with more information are available online.