In early March, the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG) published the final report on the EU taxonomy of green economic activities. TEG is made up of 35 members from civil society, academia, business and the finance sector, the EU and other international public bodies, and has been working on the taxonomy for climate change mitigation and adaptation since July 2018. The report is based on feedback from numerous expert workshops and the feedback of more than 260 stakeholders through two open consultations and 200 experts.

The report provides recommendations on the design of an EU “green list” that creates a common understand of what “green” means. It sets up as standards two criteria: substantial contribution and do no significant harm. Investors can use the taxonomy to understand the impact on the climate and the environment of the projects and economic activities in which they are investing. This will help steer public and private capital towards more sustainable investing practices.

TEG has also prepared an Excel tool to help users implement the taxonomy in their activities.