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Finland set to reject EU taxonomy rules over biomass
(EurActiv, 22 Nov 2021) Finland has come out against the EU’s draft “Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act” saying the proposed classification of biomass under the EU’s green finance rules goes against the country’s national interest.
The EU taxonomy regulation spells out conditions under which economic activities can be considered sustainable, sending a signal to investors about what is green and what is not.
The majority of economic activities, including hydropower and the burning of biomass, were covered in April in a so-called “climate delegated act,” which spells out conditions under which an economic sector can be classified as a “sustainable”, “transition” or “enabling” activity in the fight against climate change.
EU countries are set to vote on the proposal in December and can only approve the text or reject it, voting by a qualified majority.
But in a statement last week (17 November) the Finnish government said it “does not support the adoption of the [climate] delegated act in the current form proposed by the European Commission”.
The main concern for Helsinki is the treatment of forestry and bioenergy under the EU proposal.
“The issue is so firmly a question of national interests that we can’t be a country without a stance in the EU,” explained Annika Saariko, the Finnish finance minister, on 10 November.
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EurActiv, 22 Nov 2021: Finland set to reject EU taxonomy rules over biomass
