Brussels sued for including fossil gas in EU’s green finance taxonomy
ClientEarth, WWF’s European Policy Office, Transport & Environment (T&E), and BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany) started legal action against the European Commission on Monday (19 September) after the EU executive passed a contentious law to include fossil gas into the EU’s list of sustainable investments.
In a controversial move earlier this year, the European Commission gave gas power plants a ‘sustainable’ label under the EU’s green finance taxonomy, provided the technology meets a certain CO2 emissions threshold.
But environmental groups argue the legislation, which survived a European Parliament vote on 6 July, clashes with the European Climate Law and does not respect the EU’s obligations under the Paris Agreement.
“Gas is a potent fossil fuel that threatens European energy security and has led to sky-high energy prices across Europe,” argue the four NGOs – ClientEarth, WWF’s European Policy Office, Transport & Environment (T&E), and BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany).
According to the group, the label risks channelling more money into fossil gas power plants, and steer away investments from greener technologies like renewable energies and demand reduction.
