ESG: Commission call for evidence on Taxonomy Regulation TSCs

On 7 November 2025, the European Commission published a Call for Evidence (CfE) in respect of possible amendments to the Climate Delegated Regulation and the Environmental Delegated Regulation.

These are Level 2 measures which underpin the Taxonomy Regulation by specifying the technical screening criteria (TSC) to be used when determining whether an economic activity can qualify as environmentally sustainable.

The CfE is open until 5 December 2025 and can be accessed via the Commission webpages relating to the Climate Delegated Act and the Environmental Delegated Act.

When adopted (which is expected to be Q2 2026), the draft Delegated Acts will be open for four weeks of public feedback.

Background

The Taxonomy Regulation provides a classification system that defines criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities.

The Taxonomy Climate and Environmental Delegated Regulations (the Delegated Acts) underpin the regulation by specifying TSC for activities contributing to the six EU climate and environmental objectives (namely, (i) climate change mitigation, (ii) climate change adaptation, (iii) sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, (iv) circular economy, (v) pollution prevention and control and (vi) biodiversity.

The Commission is now in the process of reviewing the Delegated Acts in order to

• update and simplify the TSC (including the 'do no significant harm' criteria) and

• improve the clarity, usability, legal certainty, and cost-effectiveness of the EU Taxonomy.

As part of its review, the Commission is collecting feedback from practitioners applying the Delegated Acts, focusing on what it regards as "practical implementation issues and areas needing clarification or simplification".

In particular, the Commission is looking to put forward targeted amendments which would improve the usability of, simplify and clarify the TSC while maintaining their robustness and credibility. This may include adjustments to specific TSC, improving definitions and/or removing duplicative or disproportionate requirements.

Problems which the Commission's work aims to tackle

The Commission recognises that certain TSC in the Delegated Acts "have proven difficult to apply in practice".

Inconsistencies have been flagged, along with legal uncertainty and overly complex TSC affecting a wide range of stakeholders.

The main issues raised have been

• complexity
• gaps in alignment with updated EU legislation
• unclear or overly granular TSC, especially as regards the 'do no significant harm' criteria and
• lack of clarity on means to demonstrate compliance.

The Commission has already gathered evidence and will continue to do so through targeted consultations, feedback received as a result of the CfE as well as through engagement with stakeholders.