EU Taxonomy: Publication of the assessment criteria for environmental objectives 3 to 6
On November 21, two new delegated regulations relating to the EU taxonomy were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The first, also known as the "Environmental Delegated Regulation", contains the technical assessment criteria for the outstanding climate targets 3 to 6. These are the following targets:
- Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources
- Transition to a circular economy
- Prevention and reduction of environmental pollution
- Protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems
It also contains significant adjustments with regard to sustainability reporting.
The second Delegated Regulation supplements the technical assessment criteria for the climate-related environmental targets and is therefore referred to as the "Climate Delegated Regulation".
Both regulations come into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal and therefore in good time to influence the reporting obligation from next year.
This means for the reporting obligation from 01.01.2024: For those economic activities that relate to climate targets 3 to 6, the assessment must initially only be based on taxonomy capability. It must therefore be checked whether corresponding technical assessment criteria have been defined for the economic activity in question. The same applies to the newly added technical assessment criteria for economic activities related to the known environmental objectives "climate change mitigation" and "adaptation to climate change".
The significantly more complex audit for taxonomy conformity is therefore not required in 2024. For reports published from January 1, 2025, the full reporting requirements for taxonomy conformity will then apply. An economic activity is considered taxonomy-compliant if it fulfills the technical assessment criteria (per environmental objective) and does not negatively impact any of the other environmental objectives.
The fundamental adjustments to sustainability reporting and the changes to the existing economic activities for the environmental targets for climate protection must be implemented in full. The adjustments therefore have a direct impact on the KPIs to be disclosed, such as the Green Asset Ratio (GAR) and the Cap-EX and Sales KPIs.
We at CURENTIS AG will be happy to accompany you on the way to implementing these new requirements.
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