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EU Expert Group puts forward recommendations on sustainable finance

19th June 2019

On June 18, the EU Commission’s Technical Expert Group working on sustainable finance released its report on the EU taxonomy putting forward its recommendations for a classification system of sustainable investments. This taxonomy will create a framework to define which economic activities are classified as being environmentally sustainable. The taxonomy aims to support the delivery of Europe’s climate targets.

The Expert Group’s technical report offers a sound technical basis for future legislation on EU taxonomy to be adopted next year, following discussions with EU Member States and EU Parliament. The taxonomy work was developed by stakeholders from business, finance, civil society and academia. The Institute also contributed to the process.

The report sets out a list of technical screening criteria for economic activities that will support Europe’s climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) qualifies as a taxonomy-eligible sector. The report states that “ CCS can be eligible in any sector/activity if it enables that primary activity to operate in compliance with the threshold - for example, steel, cement or electricity production.”

Speaking on the occasion of the release, Guloren Turan, General-Manager, Advocacy at the Global CCS Institute said: “We welcome the technical report on sustainable finance which recognizes the importance of carbon capture and storage in decarbonizing Europe’s industry and the whole energy system. It also considers the importance of carbon capture and storage to scale up hydrogen production to decarbonize critical sectors of the economy. The experts rightly acknowledge the importance of CO2 transport and storage infrastructure to deliver Europe’s climate ambition. A common EU taxonomy will be a key milestone for the deployment of CCS in Europe and to open the door for sustainable investments.”

The Technical Group will seek feedback on the report over the summer.

Read the full report here.

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