Defining Sustainability : Who Can Solve the Discord on the Taxonomy Regulation?

The Taxonomy Regulation is an example of mainstreaming of the climate objectives of the European Union and a perfect candidate to study its boundaries. It notably raises the question to which extent the legislator and the European Commission have the possibility to shape the definition of what is sustainable when it comes to climate. This issue is highlighted in a context where Member States have conflicting views and interests on what should be sustainable, with the inclusion of nuclear and gas being challenged by some Member States in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union. This paper argues that the Treaties give the legislator a wide margin of discretion in defining what is sustainable and that the Commission's ability to define activities as sustainable is limited by the powers delegated to it by the legislature in the basis act, in this case the Taxonomy Regulation