Economic Secretary (): My noble friend the
Treasury Lords Minister () has today made the
following Written Ministerial Statement.
The development of a UK Green Taxonomy is a complex, technical
exercise which is linked to multiple sectors of the economy and
various legislative and regulatory frameworks. This complexity is
also becoming apparent in the European Union (EU), where
challenges have arisen during the implementation of the EU’s
taxonomy.
The Government is clear that the value of a taxonomy rests on its
credibility as a practical and useful tool for investors,
companies, consumers and regulators in supporting access to
sustainable finance. These are long term matters and it is
important to proceed carefully. Having received advice from the
Green Technical Advisory Group, and following stakeholder
engagement, the Government believes that there is benefit in
reviewing its approach to taxonomy development to maximise the
effectiveness of our sustainable finance agenda.
Therefore, the Government will not make secondary legislation
under the Taxonomy Regulations this year. The Financial Services
and Markets Bill is currently before Parliament. Subject to
parliamentary approval, the Bill will repeal retained EU law
relating to financial services – including the Taxonomy
regulations. Using the powers in the Bill, HM Treasury intends to
first commence the repeal of the statutory requirement to make
technical screening criteria regulations by 1 January 2023, so
that the obligation no longer applies. Then it will consider how
to use the powers in the Bill to restate and modify retained EU
law, and decide whether to change the UK’s approach. This is
consistent with the Government’s general approach to retained EU
law for financial services.
The Government will provide a further update as part of its
publication of the Green Finance Strategy in early 2023.
