Why the EU’s Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act correctly lists bio-based plastics as “green investments”
The Climate Delegated Act supplementing the Taxonomy Regulation clearly supports “plastics derived wholly or partially from renewable feedstock” as “substantially contributing to climate change mitigation”. In order to meet the European Union’s climate and energy targets for 2030 and reach the objectives of the European Green Deal, the European Commission aims at directing investments towards sustainable projects and activities. This requires a common language and a clear definition of what “sustainable” means. Therefore, the Commission’s Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth called for the creation of a common classification system for sustainable economic activities, or an “EU Taxonomy”. The EU Taxonomy provides companies, investors, and policymakers with definitions according to which economic activities can be considered environmentally sustainable. This way, the Commission wants to help companies to make more climate-friendly decisions, mitigate market fragmentation, create security for investors, protect private investors from greenwashing, and shape the focus of investments within the EU.
Adoption of the Bioeconomy Strategy Progress Report
The recently published EU Bioeconomy Strategy Progress Report 2022 identifies gaps for possible future EU bioeconomy actions and initiatives. Requested by the Council of the European Union in 2019, this report assesses the progress made in the implementation of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy from 2018 and its Action Plan. The report reflects on the increased importance of the bioeconomy in the new political environment, framed by the European Green Deal. With the current fossil-based economy having reached its limits, the transition towards a new societal and economic model, based on the sustainable and circular use of biological resources, has become one of the Union’s core tasks. The bioeconomy, with its potential to improve policy coherence and identify and resolve trade-offs, for example on land and biomass demands, enables countries and regions to design transition pathways according to their specific challenges and opportunities. The bioeconomy plays a crucial role in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal and helps to find solutions for the current food security and energy independence crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
United Nations Environment Assembly Should Support Bioplastics
Earlier this year, delegates of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) from 175 countries endorsed a historic resolution to end plastic pollution. This was an important step in dealing with the dire consequences of the world’s growing plastic waste crisis. Now, policymakers are meeting again in Portugal for the United Nations Ocean Conference to further elaborate on the topic of plastic pollution in the marine environment. Blanket bans, while satisfying in the short run, can unintentionally limit innovation, which is needed to tackle global pollution.