Meeting in Strasbourg for a plenary session of the European Parliament, MEPs rejected, on Wednesday 6 July, a proposed objection to the European Commission’s draft delegated act to include fossil gas and nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy as ‘transitional’ activities, clearing the way for the delegated act to enter into force.
Specifically, this means that electricity generation from fossil gas and nuclear power will be included in the taxonomy - a classification system listing economic activities that can be considered environmentally sustainable in order to guide private investors (without prohibiting or imposing certain investments) - provided that they meet certain criteria set out in the delegated act (see EUROPE 12882/1).
These criteria require, among other things, that the gas plant replaces an existing electricity generation plant that uses solid (coal) or liquid (oil) fossil fuels.
Each gas-related activity will also have to meet certain greenhouse gas (GHG) emission thresholds.
Installations for which planning permission is granted before 31 December 2030 will, for example, be required to have direct GHG emissions of less than 270 g of CO2e/kWh, or annual emissions of no more than an average of 550 kg of CO2e/kW of the installation’s capacity over 20 years.
For nuclear power, the criteria require that the construction permit be issued before 2045 for new plants and before 2040 for extensions to existing plants.
Nuclear-related activities will also have to be accompanied by a plan to commission a final disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste by 2050.
A majority formed by right-wing parties
While several MEPs had anticipated a very close vote (see EUROPE 12986/2), the objection to the draft delegated act was finally rejected by 278 for, 328 against and 33 abstentions.
The majority against the objection (and thus in favour of the delegated act) is mainly composed of the political groups traditionally positioned on the right of the political spectrum and the liberals (Renew Europe).
Not counting the MEPs who did not take part in the vote and the Non-attached Members, the majority is made up of : 116 EPP members, the entire ECR group, all of the ID group except for four MEPs, 59 members of Renew Europe, as well as 21 Social Democrats (S&D).
The other camp is composed of: almost all the Greens/EFA group (one abstention) and The Left (one vote against), 100 social democrats, 37 EPP members, 27 Renew Europe MEPs and four ID group members.
It should also be noted that 11 S&D members abstained. However, abstentions count more in such votes, since the rejection of a delegated act requires an absolute majority of MEPs, i.e. 353 votes, and not a simple majority (50% of votes cast + 1).
Among these 11 members and the 21 Social Democrats who voted against the objection and thus decided not to follow the position of the rest of their group, there are mainly MEPs from Eastern European Member States (Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria...) and some Maltese MEPs.
A divisive text
In a sign of the divisive nature of the vote, some environmental activists in the Chamber displayed T-shirts with the words “Betrayal” on them when the results were announced.
It must be said that this vote was particularly awaited for by many stakeholders who had multiplied mobilisations, letters and other actions of influence to tip the balance in one direction or the other over the last few days.
The pressure was all the greater because the Parliament alone had the power to oppose the delegated act, which would have forced the Commission to withdraw its draft text. On the EU Council side, there are too few Member States opposed to the text to reject it by 11 July and neither co-legislator has the power to amend a delegated act.
“Today is a dark day for the climate and the energy transition. We are sending a disastrous signal to investors and the rest of the world that the EU now recognises fossil gas and nuclear as sustainable investments. By clearing the way for this delegated act, the EU will have unreliable and greenwashed conditions for green investments in the energy sector”, said Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, Netherlands), the Parliament’s co-rapporteur on the EU taxonomy regulation, after the vote.
While many civil society organisations joined him in his criticism, gas and nuclear industry players such as EDF, Foratom and NuclearEurope welcomed the MEPs’ vote.
Supporting the Commission’s text, the chair of the Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI), Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, France), said in particular: “Gas can play a role as a ‘useful transition activity’ by replacing coal, and only when it replaces coal.
For Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, director of theJacques Delors Institute ‘s Energy Centre, including fossil gas in the taxonomy, “in any way, shape or form” is simply “pure greenwashing” and “goes against science”.
He added: “According to the criteria, a 1GW fossil gas power plant is ‘green’ if you promise to emit a maximum of 550,000 tonnes of CO2e over 20 years. What happens when you break that ceiling after, say, 10 years of operation? We don’t know”.
He also criticised the nuclear criteria: “We must be serious about radioactive waste management. More than a ‘documented plan’ for something to be in place by 2050, real sites are needed - like Bure in France or Onkalo in Finland.
Towards legal action
Some opponents of the delegated act, such as the Luxembourg government, the Austrian government and the NGO Greenpeace , have announced that they are determined to take the text to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to have it annulled.
See the result of the vote: https://aeur.eu/f/2if (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)