Credit: YFCL
Youth for Climate Luxembourg (YFCL) has announced that it is organising an anti-greenwashing action in Place de Clairefontaine in Luxembourg-Ville on Saturday 25 June 2022 at 12:00.
On this occasion, YFCL will dress up as the politicians responsible for the classifications of fossil fuels as "sustainable" within the European Union (EU) Taxonomy, in anticipation of the final European Parliament vote in July.
Having officially entered into force on 12 July 2020, the European Commission's long-awaited EU Taxonomy is designed to serve as a financial classification tool, informing private sectors and governments on which activities are deemed sustainable, and therefore encouraged. As YFCL explained, it was created to support the transformation of European economies within the objectives set by the European Green Deal, namely the goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050.
However, in its latest expansion, the design strayed away from this purpose, argued YFCL in a statement, instead serving as a "greenwashed and harmful financial incentive". Recently, the European Commission included both fossil gas and nuclear energy into the EU Taxonomy. YFCL has argued that deeming these energies "sustainable", even just as a transitory measure in the case of fossil gas, "cannot lead to effective decarbonisation of financial flows". Instead, endorsing investments towards gas will only hinder this transition, YFCL continued.
"This is a huge step back, and one we cannot afford", the statement added. As such, this Saturday will see YFCL (both literally and figuratively) suit up and dress as the politicians who refuse to acknowledge the EU Taxonomy for what it is (in the eyes of YFCL): "blatant greenwashing".
