Five NGOs – Fossielvrij, Protect our Winters, Dryade, CLAW and Opportunity Green – have launched a legal challenge against the European Commission (EC) over changes to the European Union (EU) Taxonomy for sustainable activities which they say will be tantamount to ‘sticking a green investment label on thousands of highly polluting planes and ships’.
In the words of the EU, the Taxonomy is ‘a classification system that defines criteria for economic activities that are aligned with a net zero trajectory by 2050 and the broader environmental goals other than climate’.
The Taxonomy was adopted in 2020. Its latest form – which includes shipping and aviation activities as sustainable investments if they meet stipulated criteria – was published in November 2023 and will apply from this year.
Effectively, the Taxonomy provides a verified list of ‘green’ investments to companies, investors and policymakers.
However, the NGOs are now calling on the EC to review the rules because they believe that, as things stand, ‘ships and planes running on fossil fuels could be eligible for green finance, if they meet certain weak “efficiency”criteria.’
On the maritime side, the NGOs have expressed their dismay that: ‘LNG-powered ships could be Taxonomy compliant, despite LNG being a highly polluting fossil fuel which produces methane, a greenhouse gas which is 80 times more potent than CO2 in the short term.’
The NGOs maintain that ‘there is no robust scientific evidence for these new criteria’, which they believe could ‘potentially jeopardise climate mitigation efforts and the EU’s legally binding climate targets’.
In a statement sent to Bunkerspot, Carly Hicks, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer & Legal Director at Opportunity Green, said: ‘Big cruise ships powered with fossil gas could obtain a green label, despite the fact that these ships leak methane into our atmosphere, which has disastrous consequences for the climate. All sectors, and companies, must be held accountable for their part in reducing emissions, and the EU has a hugely important role in ensuring this. Instead, this decision risks driving huge amounts of finance towards highly polluting activities. It is the worst kind of greenwashing. If the Commission doesn’t address the legal violations we believe we have identified, we will be forced to take action before the European Court of Justice.’
Hiske Arts at Dutch NGO Fossielvrij added: ‘The Taxonomy is flying under the radar for most people – but if we don’t challenge it these industries will be allowed to rubber stamp planes and ships powered by fossil fuels as sustainable. This would mean that money that is meant for climate solutions will end up fuelling climate disaster, as it encourages the polluting aviation and shipping industries to sustain their unsustainable growth path.’
On Sunday (14 January), the NGOs formally issued a request for internal review to the EC, which is expected to respond within 16 weeks (but this can be extended to 22 weeks). The NGO said the request is ‘the first step in the challenge which may lead to court action before the European Court of Justice if the Commission does not address the legal issues raised’.
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