As the end of the year approaches, the European Commission has still not communicated an official date for the presentation of the delegated act regarding the inclusion of nuclear energy and fossil fuels in the European Union’s taxonomy, a classification system designed to help investors by determining which economic activities can be considered sustainable.
According to the latest statements by EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, the delegated act will indeed be unveiled before 2022.
“The proposal for a second Delegated Act will be ready in the coming weeks, as President Von der Leyen indicated at the October European Council”, Ms Simson assured the audience at the World Nuclear Exhibition on Tuesday 30 November.
While the inclusion of nuclear energy and fossil fuels in the EU taxonomy appears to be a foregone conclusion in recent (see EUROPE 12818/4) and earlier (see EUROPE 12764/2) statements by the European Commission, it remains unclear how these economic activities will be treated.
According to Kadri Simson, the Commission has put in place “a robust process to be in position to make a science-based decision” and therefore ensure “the credibility of the assessment leading to the inclusion, also in a transitional form, or exclusion of nuclear from the activities eligible under the Taxonomy Regulation”. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)