The Dutch Pension Federation has called for an ‘orange’ category for technologies that play a temporary role in the transition to a net-zero economy.

The call follows the European Commission’s proposal to extend the EU Taxonomy to allow gas and nuclear energy to be classified as sustainable under certain conditions.

It argued the proposal was “not based on scientific consensus”, pointing to a previous indication from the Platform on Sustainable Finance, which provided advice to the European Commission on the context of the taxonomy, that they should not be included under the conditions set.

The Pension Federation said it was in favour of an alternative approach for technologies that play a temporary role in the green transition, such as gas and nuclear power.

This ‘orange’ category could include economic activities that were not fully sustainable but still play an “important role” in moving away from more pollutant activities, such as coal.

It stated that this approach was “preferable” as it could support the financing of the net-zero transition without “diluting the widely accepted understanding of sustainable activities”.

Also commenting on the European Commission’s proposal, Denmark’s Forsikring & Pension stated that it was essential that the debate around nuclear power and natural gas did not delay the implementation of the Taxonomy.

It said that the Taxonomy was an “absolutely crucial tool” for creating transparency and therefore essential for securing the pensions industry’s contribution to green and sustainable investments in the future.

“We strongly urge that the taxonomy is not reduced to a question of whether one is for or against nuclear power,” commented Forsikring & Pension CEO, Kent Damsgaard.

“With the taxonomy, we are on our way to developing a common language for what constitutes green investment. We need that framework. And it is a very big task that our industry is already in the middle of.

"It is the fewest Danes who associate nuclear power and natural gas with something green or climate friendly. But both before and after the taxonomy, the pension and insurance companies will be free to invest in what they want to invest in within the overall framework set by the taxonomy and what they do not want to invest in.

“No one is forced by the taxonomy to invest in nuclear power or natural gas.”

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