Historic EU finance rules for EVs undermined by support for gas

Electric vehicles (EVs) will be the only cars that can be classified as green investments as of 2026, under new rules cleared by EU governments. The historic sustainable finance rules will, however, be severely undermined by the European Commission’s labeling of gas as green investments later this month, explains Transport & Environment (T&E), which said the Commission is trying to bury the contentious policy.

Last night marked the deadline for EU countries to object to the Commission’s proposed definitions for what counts as green investments under the sustainable finance taxonomy. It’s the first piece of the taxonomy of what can be considered green investments. T&E welcomes the move to support EVs in the first delegated act, but warns that the provisions on forestry, bioenergy, gas buses and cargo ships will lead to greenwashing. 

The plans for gas – to be labeled as ‘green’ along with nuclear power in the second delegated act – would completely undermine the value of the EU’s green finance rules, says T&E. The Commission is delaying publishing its proposal until just before Christmas.

Luca Bonaccorsi, director of sustainable finance at T&E, said: “The classification of EVs as sustainable vehicles is possibly the most advanced green classification in financial markets. But this pales in comparison with the greenwashing in both laws. The Commission is on the verge of labeling gas as ‘green’, thereby destroying the credibility of the EU’s sustainable finance agenda as a whole.”