The European Commission has called nuclear and gas energy sustainable. Critics are calling the move 'green' laundering and say it could jeopardize the bloc's aspirations to become climate neutral by 2050, DW reports.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called climate neutrality European destiny and solemnly declared that she would spare no effort to make Europe the world's first zero-emission continent.

But often the devil is in the details. The big question is how exactly the European Union intends to achieve its goals.

According to the European Commission, one measure is the so-called taxonomy, a classification system that establishes a list of environmentally sustainable economic activities.

This taxonomy can be described as the EU's set of green investment rules to help the continent become climate neutral by 2050.

Critics say the goal of climate neutrality could be in jeopardy as the European Commission decided to give nuclear power and natural gas a green label under that taxonomy.

For example, gas installations can only be considered sustainable if they switch to low-carbon or renewable gases such as biomass or hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources by 2035.

Nuclear power plants will be considered environmentally friendly if radioactive waste can be safely disposed of at the sites. However, no permanent burial place has been put into operation worldwide so far.