The European Commission was sued by the EU court, which is also called the Court of Justice, due to the inclusion of natural gas and nuclear energy in the classification of environmentally sustainable activities for investors – the green taxonomy.
Lawsuits were filed by international environmental organizations, one by Greenpeace, the other by a coalition of Client Earth and WWF, The Guardian reports.
Greenpeace claims that the EU executive acted illegally when it designated gas and nuclear technologies as transitional to meet climate goals. The inclusion of gas in the green taxonomy violates EU climate legislation.
Eco-activists are asking the court to invalidate this inclusion.
It is noted that these cases are the last legal action against the green taxonomy. In 2022, the lawsuit was filed by Austria, which was supported by Luxembourg.
The executive director of Greenpeace Germany, Nina Treu, emphasized that the taxonomy was intended to be a tool to limit warming to 1.5°C. In addition, it was supposed to contribute to the social and economic restructuring of the European economy.
"Instead of preventing greenwashing, the taxonomy has become a tool for greenwashing," she said.
Treu added that gas and nuclear power were included because of politically motivated lobbying. After all, gas cannot be considered a transition fuel, because any gas plant that works today will work after 2050.
Eco-activists claim that the construction of new nuclear plants, which lasts up to 20 years, will delay the transition from coal power and hinder the development of renewable energy sources. In addition, there is a risk of accidents.
Treu emphasized that nuclear power is dangerous, expensive, vulnerable to climate change and too slow to stop the climate crisis.
Greenpeace lawyer Rhoda Verheijen stressed that the inclusion of gas and nuclear power is not in line with the original EU law on taxonomy and directly violates it.
It is noted that the lawsuit by the coalition of Client Earth and WWF concerns the inclusion of gas, but not nuclear power.
Anaïs Berthier of Client Earth said that the European Commission violated the requirement to create a science-based policy. It also breached EU climate law, which required politicians to carry out checks to ensure that all the bloc's actions meet the goal of reaching net zero by 2050.
The material said that the court's decision is expected in 2025.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the European Commission included nuclear energy and natural gas in the classification of environmentally sustainable activities for investors of the "EU Green Taxonomy".
As EcoPolitic previously reported, four environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the European Commission due to the adoption of a controversial law on the inclusion of fossil gas in the list of EU sustainable investments.
