Throughout the transition of our energy system, the function of natural gas-fired electricity generation will change and will increasingly be a facilitator for the spread of renewable electricity and stable supply. Here, when the Council votes on a proposal by the Commission or the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, a QM is reached if two conditions are met: When the Council votes on a proposal not made by the Commission or the High Representative, a decision is adopted if: Until 31March 2017, any EU country may request that a decision be taken in accordance with the rules in force before 1 November 2014 (i.e. at least 20 MS) representing at least 65% of the EU population are neededto object to the Delegated Act), and the European Parliament by a majority (i.e. The German government was involved in recent deliberations as well. The European Commission on 31 December sent out its proposal to allow some fossil gas and nuclear projects to be labelled sustainable investments under the EU taxonomy under clear and tight conditions. Expert advice sought by the Commission as part of its preparatory work (the reports of the Technical Expert Group until 2020, and the report of the Joint Research Committee in 2021) confirms this. The EU taxonomy is the centrepiece of a broader sustainable finance package that aims to better align the financial system with environmental, social and governmental (ESG) goals in policymaking. the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority. This should help investors to distinguish between the different activities they are investing in. Why was the European Parliament not formally consulted? All rights reserved. The reinforced qualified majority therefore comprises at least 72% of the members of the Council representing 65% of the EU's population. The Commission's proposal is therefore consistent with the Commission's modelling underpinning its most ambitious legislative package for our climate. The EU taxonomy is the centrepiece of a broader sustainable finance package that aims to better align the financial system with environmental, social and governmental (ESG) goals in policymaking. There are two forms of qualified majority: standard and reinforced. A special or reinforced Qualified Majority (at least 10 Member States in favour) is possible but only for implementing common strategies, joint actions or common positions which, before, have already been adopted by unanimity. Become your target audiences go-to resource for todays hottest topics. 19.25% of the population of the EU (i.e. Instead, it is focused on indispensable technologies and sectors where investments can reduce the environmental impact, for example steel production. In order to provide a high degree of market transparency regarding investments in natural gas and nuclear energy activities covered by this Delegated Act, financial and non-financial companies should present specific disclosure requirements that would show to what degree gas and nuclear energy activities, complying with the technical screening criteria, is in the numerator and denominator of the key performance indicators of those undertakings. German government split over EU plans to label gas as sustainable A guide to the EU's 'green' taxonomy - and nuclear's place in it Regarding the power generation, the capacity of the gas-fired plant cannot exceed the capacity of the coal-fired plant by more than 15%. The general framework of the taxonomy the EUs Taxonomy Regulation entered into force in mid-2020, but important details were left unresolved. The act cleared all legislative hurdles and has applied since 1 January 2022. Producers of goods like cement or steel that seek an investment credit from a bank or insurance covers for a new project, for example, will need to demonstrate that their products meet criteria like greenhouse gas emissions caps per unit, based on the performance of the most efficient technologies available in a given EU industry. The Commission prepares and adopts delegated acts after consulting expert groups, composed of representatives from each EU country. Shifting towards renewable energy is essential for achieving climate neutrality. Climate and energy high on the agenda in run up to 2024 EU parliament elections, Ill-equipped Europe braces for impact of rising temperatures, Cooperation vs competition: How EU-China relations shape fight against climate change, Energy transition in EU takes centre stage in quest for climate neutrality. Importantly, the use of gas should act as a replacement of plants running on more polluting solid and liquid fossil fuels (e.g. CLEW covers all aspects of the energy transition browse through our topic pages to find news and background on: The taxonomy debate shows that there is considerable disagreement among EU states over the right path to climate neutrality. Don't forget to give your feedback! The Council will have the right to object to it by reinforced qualified majority (which means that at least 72% of MS (i.e. This should help investors to distinguish among activities they invest in. Keep a step ahead of your key competitors and benchmark against them. Danger of radiation? What is the rationale for defining certain gas-related activities as substantially contributing to the EU climate and environmental objectives? PDF Voting Behaviour in the EU Council - ETH Z Nuclear, gas, renewables: What powers the EU's 'Franco-German engine' in the future? The authoritative source for independent research on UK-EU relations, This fact was correct when it was updated on 21 Sep 2020. The European Union is still battling over how this actually happens. The European Green Deal and its ambitious climate and energy objectives are our best guarantee to reduce our energy dependency (by increasing investment in renewable energy sources). We organise tours, meetings and online events to help you with frontline reporting of the energy transition. The new system is set out in Article 16(4) of the Lisbon Treaty, subject to the transitional arrangements described below. coal). A row over the sustainability of nuclear power and natural gas has emerged as the most controversial question the taxonomy has opened so far. This is a list of experimental features that you can enable. as compared to energy production from coal? In this Complementary Climate Delegated Act, the Commission includes certain nuclear and gas activities in the second category of activities, i.e. Qualified majority voting is one of the two main1 methods of voting in the Council of the EU, and also other EU institutions which have one representative for each Member State: e.g. "Therefore, the proposals of the EU Commission's delegated act with regard to gas are in line with the position of the German government, even if such an "act" would not have been needed from our point of view," he told reporters in Berlin. The carefully crafted set of technical screening criteria ensure that all relevant requirements of the Taxonomy Regulation are complied with. A recent New York decision (Holland Loader) suggests that New York law will similarly imply a reasonableness standard regardless of which modifier . Supporting a clean energy transition would allow us not just to avert the disastrous impacts of climate change but also to reduce the EU's vulnerability to fossil fuel price volatility. As part of the process, the European Parliament receives the same information as Member States, and is invited to submit its views. These are activities that cannot yet be replaced by technologically and economically feasible low-carbon alternatives, but do contribute to climate change mitigation and with the potential to play a major role in the transition to a climate-neutral economy, in line with EU climate goals and commitments, and subject to strict conditions, without crowding out investment in renewables. Do you want to help improving EUR-Lex ? The Frankfurter Rundschau criticised it would put natural gas plants and nuclear reactors on a sustainability level with wind and solar power. What is the rationale for defining nuclear activities as being in line with the EU's climate and environmental objectives? However, new plants take years to be built, so their contribution to climate change mitigation very much a near-term challenge is questioned. The Clean Energy Wire produces and enables first-class journalism about the energy transition in Germany and beyond. The final treaty does not mention the taxonomy. The required reinforced qualified majority has been reached. These features are still under development; they are not fully tested, and might reduce EUR-Lex stability. Nuclear power is too risky, too expensive and too slow to help the world with climate action, she said. Article 10(2) complements this by phasing out greenhouse gas emissions, in particular emissions from solid fossil fuels - a requirement that has been taken into account in the technical screening criteria in the Complementary Delegated Act, along with the other requirements applicable to transitional activities. For some countries, such as France or Finland, nuclear energy is an integral part of their current mix and future plans to decarbonise their energy supply. Nuclear power is dangerous and no solution in the fight against the climate crisis, she wrote in a message on Twitter. Should the four-month (six-month) scrutiny period end without either institution objecting, the delegated act will enter into force and apply. At the same time, Habeck said it was questionable whether fossil gas should be included in the taxonomy. In this case, any decision taken requires a reinforced qualified majority, consisting of at least two thirds of members of the Council of the EU. The Taxonomy Regulation lays out three types of activities: low-carbon (Article 10(1)), transitional (Article 10(2)) and enabling (Article 16). In the case of efforts covenants, the court noted that qualifiers like best efforts, reasonable best efforts, commercially reasonable efforts and shades in between are used to define how hard the parties have to try to satisfy a commitment in the agreement such as obtaining regulatory approvals. What we are talking about here is the assessment of the activities of companies, he said, adding that in the end individual countries decide which way they want to go with regard to their path for an emission-free future. What activities and accompanying criteria does the Complementary Climate Delegated Act introduce? Thus, joint rules for such private investments have led to the dispute at hand, as they could make one or the other path more expensive, for example through higher risk premiums.

Boone County 4-h Fair 2023, Mountain Lakes Golf Club, Stony Brook Procurement, Burroughs High School Baseball, Articles R