Greenhouse gas emissions, climate change: mechanism for monitoring and reporting

PURPOSE: to establish a mechanism for the monitoring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change and repealing Decision No 280/2004/EC

CONTENT: the new Regulation strengthens the EU’s monitoring and reporting framework in light of lessons learnt from the implementation of the current monitoring system, as well as to take into account developments both at Union and international level.

In particular, the Regulation incorporates new requirements for monitoring and reporting resulting from the ‘Climate and Energy’ package, adopted in 2009, and decisions recently adopted within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Subject matter and scope: it is stipulated that the new mechanism should facilitate the monitoring and reporting on the actions taken by Member States to adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change in a cost-effective manner.

Low-carbon development strategies: Member States and the Commission shall prepare their low-carbon development strategies in accordance with any reporting provisions agreed internationally in the context of the UNFCCC process.

Member States shall report to the Commission on the status of implementation of their low-carbon development strategy by 9 January 2015 or in accordance with any timetable agreed internationally in the context of the UNFCCC process.

Inventory systems: Member States shall establish, operate and seek to continuously improve national inventory systems, to estimate anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse and to ensure the transparency and completeness of their greenhouse gas inventories. A Union inventory system shall be established to ensure the comparability of national inventories with regard to the Union greenhouse gas inventory.

The European Environment Agency shall assist the Commission with monitoring and reporting work, especially in the context of the Union’s inventory system and its system for policies and measures and projections.

Greenhouse gas inventories: the new mechanism strengthens and stipulates the reporting requirements of Member States in regard to their anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and removals of CO2 by sinks resulting from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities.

To enable the Union and the Member States to provide the most up-to-date information on their greenhouse gas emissions, the Regulation enables such estimates to be prepared by using statistical and other information, such as, where appropriate, space-based data provided by the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme and other satellite systems.

Reporting on the provision of financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries: Member States shall cooperate with the Commission to allow timely coherent reporting by the Union and its Member States on support provided to developing countries in accordance with the relevant provisions of the UNFCCC.

Confidentiality: all requirements concerning the provision of information and data under this Regulation should be subject to Union rules on data protection and commercial confidentiality.

Implementing acts: in order to ensure uniform conditions for implementation, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts on the structure, format and submission process of information on greenhouse gas emissions and removal in respect of national and Union systems for policies and measures and projections.

Maritime transport: since the Commission has announced that it intends to propose new monitoring and reporting requirements for emissions from maritime transport, a new recital has been added underlining that such requirements should not be included in this Regulation at this time.

Review: the Commission shall regularly review the conformity of the monitoring and reporting provisions under this Regulation with future decisions relating to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol or other Union legislation.

Information and data gathered under this Regulation may also contribute to future Union climate change policy formulation and assessment.

Lastly, taking into consideration the European Parliament resolution of 14 September 2011 on a comprehensive approach to non-CO 2 climate-relevant anthropogenic emissions and once there is agreement under the UNFCCC to use agreed and published IPCC guidelines on monitoring and reporting of black carbon emissions, the Commission should analyse the implications for policies and measures and, if appropriate, amend Annex I to this Regulation.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 08/07/2013.

DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in order to lay down harmonised requirements in relation to reporting the monitoring of greenhouse emissions, as well as other information relevant to the field of climate change. The power to adopt such acts is conferred on the Commission for a period of five years starting on 8 July 2013. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. Should the European Parliament or the Council object to it, the delegated act does not enter into force.