Updates on the EU Taxonomy

On 3 August 2021, The Platform on Sustainable Finance published a draft report on preliminary recommendations for technical screening criteria for the EU Taxonomy.

“The EU Taxonomy is a green classification system that translates the EU’s climate and environmental objectives into criteria for specific economic activities for investment purposes.” - The Draft Report

The Draft Report focuses primarily on presenting a first set of priority economic activities and draft recommendations for associated substantial contribution and do no significant harm (DNSH) technical screening criteria in relation to the 4 non-climate environmental objectives covering water, circular economy, pollution prevention, and biodiversity and ecosystems.

See The Draft Report here.

However, a small number of economic activities and corresponding draft recommendations for technical screening criteria related to the climate mitigation and adaptation objectives have also been included.

The Technical Screening Criteria

The Platform on Sustainable Finance was established by the Commission to provide advice on developing the EU taxonomy, set out in the Taxonomy Regulation (TR) and, in particular, on the development of technical screening criteria for the six environmental objectives set out in the TR:

· climate change mitigation

· climate change adaptation

· sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources

· transition to a circular economy

· pollution prevention and control

· protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems