Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Dr Robert Habeck has criticised especially the inclusion of nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy. "The European Commission’s proposals water down what should be a good sustainability label. We see no need for this addition to the taxonomy rules. We can’t give our approval to the European Commission’s new proposals", Federal Minister Habeck said.

"It is wrong to classify the high-risk technology of nuclear energy – of all forms of energy – as sustainable, ignoring the long-term impact on humanity and the environment. The highly radioactive nuclear waste will be a problem for centuries to come. And there are no strict safety criteria.This gives cause for great concern. It is also questionable whether the financial markets will accept this greenwashing. We will now evaluate the possible consequences of the draft second delegated act within the Federal Government."

Minister Habeck said: "The idea of including fossil gas in the taxonomy system is also questionable. The European Commission does at least make it clear that gas from fossil fuels is only a bridging technology which needs to be substituted by green hydrogen. New gas-fired power plants must already be equipped for conversion to hydrogen, and from 2035 they must be operated on the basis of green hydrogen or low-carbon gas. This is ambitious and will require large amounts of hydrogen. Incentivising sufficient investment in the transition towards hydrogen, establishing the necessary infrastructure and ramping up hydrogen production are some of the major challenges we are currently facing. We have already launched some first important projects to this end."

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has earmarked more than €8 billion for 62 specific hydrogen projects along the entire hydrogen value chain. The selected German projects are part of an overall European project. They are currently undergoing a matchmaking process at EU level. The Ministry is also keeping an eye on the international level. €900 million, for instance, was made available before Christmas for a new, innovative double auction mechanism entitled "H2Global".

The taxonomy is an EU-wide classification system for sustainable economic activities, including financial products. It aims to provide orientation for investors and steer investment towards the green transition of energy production and industry.