Four days before the end of the public consultation on the first draft delegated regulation of the European Commission establishing the taxonomy for climate change mitigation and adaptation (see EUROPE 12606/15), 131 NGOs stepped up to the plate on Tuesday 15 December to call for a taxonomy in line with the scientific recommendations and ambitions of the European Green Deal.
In a joint statement, the NGOs, including the WWF, Transport & Environment and Finance Watch, accuse the Commission of having ignored, for several activities, the recommendations (see EUROPE 12442/14) of the Technical Expert Group (TEG), which were largely science-based.
According to Transport & Environment, the Commission has proposed standards which are too low for maritime transport. The standard for ocean-going vessels is so low that it would already be met by new diesel-powered vessels without the need for them to use cleaner technologies, it said.
The WWF says the Commission should also reverse its decision to classify the combustion of all forest biomass for energy purposes as ‘sustainable’ and exclude all bio-energy feedstocks that increase emissions compared to fossil fuels.
The signatories further recommend not to include, for the time being, breeding activities in the taxonomy, as it is difficult and complex to assess its greenhouse gas emissions.
This NGO statement comes in addition to 123 scientists who recently claimed that the EU Sustainable Taxonomy is out of touch with the EU’s goal of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
See the joint statement: https://bit.ly/34eACOU (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)