EU reaches milestone by agreeing on green criteria for finance

(EurActiv, 6 Dec 2019) MEPs and the Finnish presidency of the EU Council agreed Thursday (5 December) on a taxonomy to determine what economic activities can be considered ‘green’, paving the way for billions of euros to be channelled into investments to fight climate change.

“A major success ahead of COP25 and for our Sustainable Finance Strategy,” European Commission vice-president for finance, Valdis Dombrovskis, tweeted.

The compromise was reached between the Finnish presidency and the European Parliament negotiating teams, after one and a half years of negotiations since the Commission made the original proposal.

The deal, which still needs to be confirmed by EU member states and the European Parliament, came as an “unexpected early Christmas present,” said green NGO Transport & Environment.

“The EU’s green standard will mean people can no longer be sold fake green investments. If we want to halt climate change we need money to be flowing towards good things such as electric mobility or hydrogen and not towards diesel, gas and dirty biofuels,” said its executive director, William Todts.

The taxonomy plays a crucial role in Europe’s ‘Green Deal’, as it will help to attract billions of euros needed for the sustainable transition and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

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EurActiv, 6 Dec 2019: EU reaches milestone by agreeing on green criteria for finance