Austria has filed a lawsuit against the European Commission challenging its decision to label nuclear and gas as green investments in the European Union’s (EU) new taxonomy, according to media reports.
In a series of tweets, Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s minister for climate action, environment, energy, mobility, innovation and technology warned that the EU needs to safeguard the trust of consumers and investors, which can be achieved by only labelling a product green if it is “actually green” in content.
Austria’s decision to take action against the European Commission over its energy investment labelling follows the filing of similar suits by both Greenpeace and an investor coalition including ClientEarth and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). Luxembourg has also indicated its intention to challenge the new taxonomy but has yet to file a case, according to the Financial Times.
The taxonomy did not originally include green labelling of nuclear and gas, with both added in January this year, just six months before being passed into law by the EU.
The labeling is part of a wider legislation push which aims to support the EU’s goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050.
Gewessler has argued that the European Commission “completely ignored” essential laws and even the opinion of its own panel of experts, in order to push these changes through.