France, UK block green finance deal in setback for climate goals

(EurActiv, 12 Dec 2019) Led by France and Britain, EU states yesterday (11 December) blocked a set of new rules governing which financial products can be called “green” and “sustainable”, fearing it would prevent investments in nuclear and gas projects.

The decision halted a deal struck just last week by EU lawmakers and the Finnish presidency of the EU, which negotiators hailed as a landmark compromise that could establish a global standard on green bonds and other financial products aimed at climate-conscious investors.

Britain, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia opposed the deal at a meeting of EU diplomats in Brussels, fearing it would prevent investments in nuclear and gas projects from being labelled as green.

Such investments were not explicitly excluded from the EU’s new classifications, known as taxonomy, but under the rules it would be very difficult to label them as green, potentially reducing future funding for those industries.

Nuclear industry association Foratom welcomed the decision, saying on Twitter that the tentative deal on the green finance taxonomy did not “treat all low-carbon sources equally.

“Nuclear energy should be part of this eco-label,” said French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire back in October, in comments that irritated Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, the EU countries most staunchly opposed to nuclear.

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EurActiv, 12 Dec 2019: France, UK block green finance deal in setback for climate goals