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Recovery: ‘Do no significant harm’ guidance to protect the environment

Feb 12, 2021 | News

(12 February 2021) – The Commission has today presented its guidance on the implementation of ‘do no significant harm’ in the context of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

RRF
© European Council

This guidance aims to support Member States in ensuring that all investments and reforms they propose to be financed by the RRF (€672.5 billion in loans and grants) do no significant harm to the EU’s environmental objectives, within the meaning set out in the Taxonomy Regulation.

It outlines key principles and a two-step methodology for the assessment of ‘do no significant harm’ in the context of the RRF as a way to facilitate the work of Member States in the preparation of their recovery and resilience plans. Respecting the ‘do no significant harm’ principle is a precondition for the endorsement of the plans by the Commission and the Council.

The ‘do no significant harm’ provisions are a crucial tool for this alongside the requirement that a minimum of 37% of expenditure on investments and reforms contained in each national recovery and resilience plan should support climate objectives.

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