On 12 January, a coalition of five European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) brought a legal challenge against the European Commission. The NGOs argue that the Commission has included certain criteria under the European Union (EU) Taxonomy for the aviation and shipping industries that are contrary to environmental law, due to the great likelihood that polluting activities are labelled as sustainable under the EU Taxonomy.
The EU Taxonomy is meant to be a transparent classification system, that shows investors which investments aid in the energy transition. As stated by the Commission itself: “The taxonomy is a classification system that defines criteria for economic activities that are aligned with a net zero trajectory by 2050 and the broader environmental goals other than climate”. Ultimately, the aim of the EU Taxonomy is to funnel private finance to green activities.
Yet, the NGOs argue, the aviation and shipping rules are too lenient. For aviation, this means that even those planes that meet very weak efficiency standards can be taxonomy compliant and will therefore be seen as a ‘sustainable investment’. As for shipping, vessels powered by liquefied natural gas (which is highly polluting), could also meet the EU Taxonomy standard.
As put by Opportunity Green, one of the NGOs involved in the legal challenge: “[T]he Taxonomy could drive investment to planes and ships that pollute the air and seas for decades to come, making a mockery of the urgent need to decarbonise all sectors”.
The coalition of NGOs is asking the Commission to review the above-described rules. This is a pre-trial step that could lead to litigation before the European Court of Justice. This legal procedure is brought under the Aarhus Convention, which protects three rights of the public in the EU: (i) access to information; (ii) public participation; and (iii) access to justice. In other words, the public in the EU (including NGOs) to ask a European body to review its own decision if it is deemed to be contrary to environmental law.
The NGOs involved are Germany’s CLAW, Belgium’s Dryade, the Netherlands’ Fossielvrij, UK’s Opportunity Green, and Austria’s Protect our Winters.
The ability to bring this legal challenge is enabled by a previous climate litigation victory by ClientEarth back in 2021 (after a decade-long legal battle), which expanded the access to justice provisions of the Aarhus Convention.
It is expected that the European Commission will respond in approximately 6 months.
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