EUROPE: New Screening Criteria for the EU Taxonomy’s Environmental Objectives

Nov 27 2023

Following their adoption and publication in draft form by the European Commission last June, two new EU Taxonomy delegated acts were published in the Official Journal on 21 November, and will apply from January 2024. They confirm new and amended technical screening criteria (TSCs) in relation to the environmental objectives in the Taxonomy Regulation. This is a significant build-out in the application of the Taxonomy Regulation given that for an economic activity to be taxonomy-aligned, it must:

Contribute substantially to one of the six environmental objectives;
Not significantly harm any of those objectives;
Be carried out in compliance with minimum safeguards; and
Comply with the TSCs.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2485 amends the existing Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 on the two climate-related environmental objectives, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation, to add TSCs for certain economic activities not previously covered, such as the manufacture of mobility components for zero-emission automotive and mobility systems and the manufacture of rail rolling stock constituents.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2486 adds new TSCs for certain activities as they relate to the non-climate related environmental objectives: the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control and the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems (together, often referred to as “Taxo4”). This delegated act sets out criteria for determining if the relevant activities cause significant harm to the other environmental objectives. It also makes certain amendments to the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178) to ensure consistency across the regulations, and makes a number of technical corrections.