On 22 November 2020, the European Commission issued a consultation on a draft delegated act under the Taxonomy Regulation.
The Taxonomy Regulation establishes the framework for the EU taxonomy by setting out four conditions that an economic activity must meet in order to qualify as environmentally sustainable:
- It contributes substantially to one or more of the six environmental objectives set out in Article 9 of the Taxonomy Regulation in accordance with Articles 10 to 16 of that Regulation.
- It does not significantly harm any of the other environmental objectives set out in Article 9 of the Taxonomy Regulation in accordance with Article 17 of that Regulation.
- It is carried out in compliance with minimum (social) safeguards set out in Article 18 of the Taxonomy Regulation.
- It complies with technical screening criteria established by the Commission through delegated acts in accordance with Articles 10 (3), 11(3), 12(2), 13(2), 14(2) or 15(2) of the Taxonomy Regulation. The technical screening criteria need to specify the performance criteria for a specific economic activity that determine under what conditions i) the activity makes a substantial contribution to a given environmental objective; and ii) it does not significantly harm the other objectives.
The draft delegated act specifies the technical screening criteria under which specific economic activities qualify as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation and for determining whether those economic activities cause significant harm to any of the other relevant environmental objectives
The deadline for comments on the consultation is 18 December 2020.
