Den Europæiske Unions stater har blokeret et sæt nye regler for, hvilke finansielle produkter der kan kaldes ”grøn” og ”bæredygtig”, sagde EU-embedsmænd, i et stort tilbageslag for EU´s klimaambitioner. Forhandlinger kan muligvis genoptages i de næste dage for at nå frem til nøgleaftaler – men kun for obligationsområdet, rapporterer mediet Reuters.
BRUSSELS, Dec 11 (Reuters) – European Union states have blocked a set of new rules governing which financial products can be called “green” and “sustainable”, EU officials said, in a major setback for the bloc’s climate ambitions.
The decision halted a deal struck just last week by EU lawmakers and the Finnish presidency of the EU, which negotiators hailed as a landmark compromise that could establish a global standard on green bonds and other financial products aimed at climate-conscious investors.
Britain, France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia opposed the deal at a meeting of EU diplomats in Brussels, fearing it would prevent investments in nuclear and coal projects from being labelled as green.
Such investments were not explicitly excluded from the EU’s new classifications, known as taxonomy, but under the rules it would be very difficult to label them as green, potentially reducing future funding for those industries.
France relies on nuclear energy, while European countries are still largely dependent on coal and support nuclear.
