Non-governmental organizations in Europe call the proposal to include gas and nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy "a real gift for Putin."
About it in the blog on "Economic Truth" wrote Oleg Savytskyi, an expert on climate and energy policy of the Ukrainian Climate Network. According to European activists, in this way the EU is sabotaging its own efforts to break ties with Russia and end the war.
"Fossil gas is neither green nor sustainable as it is one of the main contributors to the climate crisis. It has no place in the EU's investment taxonomy. It already produces more greenhouse gas emissions in Europe than coal, and even the International energy agency has said that we cannot have any new investment in any fossil fuel, including gas, if we want to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement," the expert explains.
He noted that the proposal of an additional Delegated Act from the European Commission, which may include gas in the taxonomy, is the result of active governmental and corporate lobbying.
Savitsky named 10 EU countries that promote gas and have been very active in trying to give this fossil fuel a green label: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
"Gas in the EU's investment taxonomy will hurt the chances of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees: new investment in fossil fuels will mean Europe and the world will miss the collective 1.5 degree Paris Agreement target, plunging the world into climate chaos. If this solution if passed, it will increase Europe's dependence on gas, particularly Russian gas, which is the source of funds for weapons that will be used against the Ukrainians. Putin's war is a fossil fuel war. The truth is that European money financed it. Speak up now for more gas is to deepen our vulnerability to Putin," the ecologist concluded.
As reported Ecopolitic, in February 2022, the European Commission contributed nuclear energy and natural gas to the classification of environmentally sustainable types of activities for investors of the EU Green Taxonomy.
MEPs threaten the European Commission with a lawsuit, if its plan to include gas and nuclear power in the green taxonomy becomes law.
In particular, The European Parliament is being asked to veto the EU taxonomy, which could help Russia earn billions of euros and get a share of potential investment, and hurt the chances of curbing global warming.
