EU parliament supports labelling gas, nuclear as sustainable
The European Parliament on July 8 supported labelling investments in natural gas and nuclear energy as sustainable in the EU's taxonomy.
The European Commission in February passed an act that revised its taxonomy, which is designed to guide investors on what activities can be considered sustainable. However, the European Parliament's environment and economic committees rejected the proposal in a resolution in mid-June, calling into question the technical screening standards that the commission had set out.
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The committees' resolution was rejected in a parliament vote on July 8, however. "If neither parliament nor council object to the proposal by July 11, 2022, the Taxonomy Delegated Act will enter into force and apply as of January 1, 2023." the parliament said in a statement. 328 lawmakers voted against the resolution, while 278 voted in favour and 33 abstained. An absolute majority of 353 lawmakers was required for parliament to veto the commission's proposal.
In order to quality as sustainable, however, gas projects must comply with stringent standards. New gas-fired power and heating assets, for example, must have lifecycle emissions of below 100 g of CO2 emissions, or meet a number of conditions and obtain a construction permit by 2030.
Gas-fired power plants must have in place a plan to switch to renewable or low-carbon gases by the end of 2025.
In a statement, the International Energy Forum welcomed parliament's decision to include natural gas and nuclear power as sustainable, projecting that the move would unlock billions of euros in new investment.
"This is a realistic and responsible decision which will bring badly needed investments to vital new nuclear and natural gas projects at a time when Europe urgently needs new and diverse supplies for its energy security," said Joseph McMonigle, the IEF's Secretary General. "The decision does not change climate goals but only increases the options to achieve them."