“The risk is to be the highest bidder in terms of regulation and the lowest bidder in terms of financing. » In his speech for reindustrialisation, on May 11, Emmanuel Macron called for a “regulatory break on environmental standards in Europe. A barely veiled criticism of the European green taxonomy project aimed at classifying economic activities according to their impact on the environment, in order to direct investments towards “green” activities and finance the ecological transition.
The linchpin of the European Green Deal, the taxonomy is the building block of the sustainable finance system of the European Union (EU). It aims to roll out new standards for green bonds – the green bonds –, borrowings intended to exclusively finance projects favorable to the environment, and “of which Europe wants to become the world leader”according to the European Commission.
Energy, transport, forestry, construction… Since its entry into force on 1er January 2023, the European Green Taxonomy focused on 90 business sectors representing 93% of greenhouse gases emitted in the EU. Eminently political, this text gave rise to several passes of arms between Member States, in particular at the time of the inclusion of gas and nuclear among the sustainable energies in 2022. Austria and Luxembourg have taken legal action to challenge the legality of this choice before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
To define a sustainable activity, the taxonomy regulations consist of a technical reference, setting emission thresholds for each activity. Companies must also contribute “substantially” to one of the six “sustainability goals” defined by the Union, without harming the other five. To date, the concepts of “substantial contribution” and DNSH (“Do No Significant Harm”, or “do no significant harm”) were defined for only two of the six criteria: mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Finally, companies must respect minimum human rights guarantees.
Each year, companies with more than 500 employees are now required to file a declaration of extra-financial performance (DPEF) and to specify the share of their turnover, their investment and operating expenses associated with their activities listed in the taxonomy.
An unfinished text that leaves plenty of room for interpretation
You have 67.81% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.