By Atoyebi Nike
The European Union’s General Court in Luxembourg has ruled that the European Commission may continue to classify nuclear power and natural gas as climate-friendly investments under the bloc’s sustainable finance framework.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, dismissed Austria’s lawsuit against the EU’s taxonomy regulation, which guides investors by identifying activities consistent with the bloc’s climate and environmental goals.
Austria filed the case in 2022, accusing Brussels of “greenwashing” by including gas and nuclear in the sustainable list, arguing that nuclear energy carries severe environmental risks and gas releases harmful carbon emissions.
The court upheld the Commission’s assessment, noting that nuclear energy produces virtually no greenhouse gas emissions and that transitional energy sources, such as gas, may qualify as sustainable if they rely on the lowest-emission technologies available.
“The EU climate label is a gradual approach based on a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in stages, while allowing for security of supply,” the court said in its ruling.
Austria may still appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU. Environmental groups have also lodged separate legal actions.
Reacting to the judgment, Greenpeace Germany’s executive director Martin Kaiser described the ruling as “a black day for the climate,” warning that it could divert billions of euros into gas and nuclear instead of speeding up the switch to renewables.
The taxonomy, introduced to promote sustainable investment, has been widely debated across Europe, with critics arguing it could slow the continent’s energy transition, while supporters say it ensures energy stability during the shift to green power.
