Posted on April, 21 2021

WWF, alongside other NGOs, is suspending its role in the European Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance following the release of the final climate taxonomy Delegated Act today.  With this step, WWF is protesting against both the greenwashing of the forestry and bioenergy criteria in the climate taxonomy, and the process that led to these criteria.

As a member of the European Commission’s Platform on Sustainable Finance, WWF European Policy Office provided expertise on what science-based taxonomy criteria should look like. This work began even prior to the creation of the Platform, with WWF’s participation in the Commission’s previous ‘Technical Expert Group’. Earlier this month, WWF and other civil society organisations and scientists sent the Commission an open letter raising concerns on unscientific criteria in a Commission’s climate taxonomy draft, stating "should politics and lobbying prevail over science, it is our responsibility to inform you that we would be forced to reconsider our contribution to the Platform."

WWF, together with other environmental experts of the Platform on Sustainable Finance has asked the Commission to clarify the rules on the basis of which the Platform operates. The Chair of the Platform has made relevant suggestions to the Commission to ensure that implementation of the EU taxonomy follows scientific evidence, as required by Article 19 (f) of the Taxonomy regulation. But the Commission is yet to respond.

Sebastien Godinot, senior economist, WWF EU, said:
“The science-based criteria shaped in a long, balanced consultative process led by the Commission’s previous Technical Expert Group were trashed today for several sectors. This casts serious doubts over the Commission’s intention to respect and follow the forthcoming taxonomy recommendations by the new EU Platform on sustainable finance. As a result, WWF is suspending its participation in this Platform until the Commission addresses the concerns and proposals raised by the Platform’s Chair. This is essential in order to strengthen the institutional process, increase transparency and devise criteria that are actually based on science.”

Further info:
The open letter can be read here. 
See WWF’s reaction to the final EU climate taxonomy today