The controversial taxonomy faces a simple majority vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday — and unusually, the result is far from certain (Photo: European Parliament)

Keeping gas as 'green' in taxonomy vote only helps Russia

by Svitlana Romanko, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine,

Two days before Vladimir Putin launched his illegal war on my home country Ukraine, Russian energy minister Nikolai Shulginov gave an interview addressing the European Commission's taxonomy on sustainable activities.

As Europe's main gas supplier, he told industry website Energy Intelligence, Russia would "stand against the idea that natural gas is not a fuel for the energy transition".

He was please...

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Green Economy Ukraine Opinion

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Svitlana Romanko is Ukrainian, a former associate professor of environmental law at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, and anti-fossil fuels activist, who now heads up the Stand With Ukraine campaign, calling for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment into Russian oil and gas companies.

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The controversial taxonomy faces a simple majority vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday — and unusually, the result is far from certain (Photo: European Parliament)