Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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85. To ask the Minister for Finance if Ireland will oppose or support proposals to include gas and nuclear projects in the EU taxonomy as suggested by the EU Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8586/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is a strong supporter of the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities’ development as a science-based tool to classify, to guide and to help mobilise investments in activities that will help us achieve carbon neutrality. It is a voluntary tool aimed primarily for use by financial services firms and large companies.

The European Commission adopted a Delegated Act on 2 February 2022 which included standards that nuclear and natural gas power production must meet, particularly in terms of emissions and other environmental impacts, to be considered sustainable. After this adoption, the Act can no longer be amended, and Council and the European Parliament have four months to object. Rejection of the Act requires a reinforced qualified majority (75% of Member States) at Council or a majority at the European Parliament.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan acknowledges that we will use natural gas as part of our energy mix, particularly as a base reserve to provide supply when renewables are unable to meet demand so as to provide consumers and businesses with the confidence to electrify. This consideration applies for other Member States also. However, it does not necessarily follow that all activities necessary to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 should be included in the Taxonomy and Ireland expressed this view to the Commission in advance of the Commission adopting their delegated act.

To be clear, including something (such as nuclear energy generation) in the Taxonomy will not mean it must be used and excluding it from the taxonomy will not prohibit its use. It is, however, likely to affect investment decisions by financial market participants. The generation of energy from nuclear power is statute-barred in Ireland and the Government has no plans to revisit this legislative prohibition.