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In order to meet the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2030 and reach the objectives of the European Green Deal, the Commission wants to direct investments towards sustainable projects and activities. The ongoing gas and electricity price shock developing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted awareness of the need to make our economies, businesses and societies less dependent on a steady supply of fossil fuels, even before considering the air pollution and CO2 emissions caused by their combustion.

To achieve this, the Commission is working on creating a common classification system for sustainable economic activities, or an “EU taxonomy” for sustainable activities. The EU taxonomy is intended to provide companies, investors and policymakers with appropriate definitions for which economic activities can be considered environmentally sustainable.

Inclusion or exclusion of nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy was a hotly-debated subject throughout the negotiations on the taxonomy regulation. In 2020, the Commission asked the Joint Research Centre (JRC), its science and knowledge service, to produce a technical report on the ‘do no significant harm’ aspects of nuclear energy. Their report has been reviewed by two sets of experts, and those three inputs will inform the Commission’s decision-making. European Commission President von der Leyen has since signalled that nuclear energy may become part of the taxonomy in some form.

Join this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to discuss the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, and whether nuclear energy should continue to be excluded.