EU Taxonomy: Platform on Sustainable Finance calls for feedback on proposed updates

The Platform on Sustainable Finance has stepped up its efforts to refine the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities. On January 8th, 2025, it unveiled a draft report outlining proposed amendments and new criteria in its "Call for feedback on preliminary recommendations for the review of the Climate Delegated Act and the addition of activities to the EU taxonomy".

This consultation arrives as the Commission prepares for the anticipated Taxonomy simplification under the “omnibus” review.

Prepared by the Platform’s Technical Working Group, the draft report proposes revisions to technical screening criteria for existing activities and introduces new ones.

Key updates include:

• a notable expansion of the Taxonomy’s scope, including the inclusion of mining and refining activities for critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, and copper, reflecting the EU’s strategic focus on securing critical minerals for the green transition. These inclusions aim to balance economic priorities with sustainability, recognizing the importance of raw materials in clean energy technologies;
• tightened greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions thresholds for electricity generation, particularly fossil gas—a move likely to reverberate across EU legislation using these metrics;
• the inclusion of a generic "adaptation" module, applicable across activities, to bolster resilience in line with global climate discussions.

Other recommendations target bioenergy, manufacturing, construction, and real estate, alongside improvements to environmental protection and biodiversity safeguards. The Platform also seeks to harmonize criteria across the Taxonomy’s mitigation and adaptation annexes, streamlining usability.

Next steps: Stakeholders have until February 5th to provide feedback on the draft. While the Platform’s proposals remain preliminary, they underscore the EU’s intent to position its Taxonomy as a dynamic tool—one that evolves to meet the twin imperatives of decarbonization and resilience. The road ahead will test the balance between ambition and pragmatism in the bloc’s sustainable finance architecture.