Monitoring, Reporting and Verification

Emission Trading System (EU ETS)

Monitoring and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions under the EU ETS

Article 14 of the EU ETS Directive (Directive 2003/87/EC) requires the Commission to adopt guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions under the ETS. The Commission adopted a revised version of these guidelines (the MRG) on 18 July 2007, to be used for the phase 2008-2012 (“MRG 2007”). Article 14 of the ET Directive requires Member States to ensure that operators of installations and aircraft operators monitor and report their greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with these guidelines, which are legally binding.

During 2008 and 2009 several amendments have been added: MRG for activities emitting nitrous oxide (N2O from the production of nitric acid, adipic acid, glyoxal and glyoxylic acid), MRG for emissions and tonne-kilometre data from aviation activities, and MRG for emissions from capturing, transport and geological storage of CO2.

• Commission Decision 2007/589/EC of 18 July 2007 establishing guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Commission Decision 2009/73/EC of 17 December 2008 amending Decision 2007/589/EC as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for emissions of nitrous oxide
• Commission Decision 2009/339/EC of 16 April 2009 amending Decision 2007/589/EC as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for emissions and tonne-kilometre data from aviation activities
• DRAFT: Commission Decision of xx/xx/2009 amending Decision 2007/589/EC as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions from the capture, transport and geological storage of carbon dioxide

Electronic Reporting:

In order to improve administrative efficiency and harmonised approaches in the Member States, the Commission has published electronic templates for monitoring plans and reports for tonne-kilometre data and annual emissions from aviation activities in accordance with Annexes XIV and XV of the MRG. Furthermore the Commission is currently developing and XML schema for harmonized electronic reporting. Further information on electronic reporting can be found here .

Legislative history:

The original MRG, for use in the first trading period from 2005 to 2007, Commission Decision of 29 January 2004 establishing guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council have been replaced by the MRG 2007 after an extensive stakeholder process.

Initially stakeholders were asked to fill a questionnaire on key monitoring issues. The results of the consultation were presented and discussed at a stakeholder day, organised by the European Commission in cooperation with IETA and held in parallel with the Carbon Expo, in Cologne on 12 May 2005.

The revision policy-making process (May 2005 – July 2006) was very complex and fully open to participation of Member States, industry stakeholders, NGOs. The Climate Change Committee, composed by Member States and chaired by the Commission, approved the new Guidelines unanimously on 31 July 2006. From August 2006 to June 2007 Commission, together with a pool of national technical experts, checked the translation of the Guidelines in the national languages in order to ensure uniform implementation at the level of Member States. The revised Guidelines were adopted by the Commission 18 July 2007 (MRG 2007).

The main changes of the revised guidelines are:

• Guidelines are closer to common industrial practices regarding monitoring and reporting done by operators (e.g. use of standard factors for commercial fuels)
• Guidelines are more cost effective especially for small emitters (lighter monitoring requirements for small installations/small emitters < 25,000 tonnes CO2) and for installations using biomass fuels
• Guidelines are more aligned with reporting made by Member States under national greenhouse gas inventory requirements
• Integrity of the system is reinforced maintaining accuracy and credibility of monitoring and reporting
• Verification procedures of the monitoring and reporting are strengthened

The revised Guidelines play a vital role in the compliance and enforcement strategy of the EU ETS. Increased trust in the reliability of monitoring, reporting and verification helps to enable international linking with other emissions trading schemes.

The following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) were developed in order to facilitate the implementation of the MRG 2007. These will be regularly updated.

The answers do not constitute a legally binding opinion of the Commission.

Verification Forum 19/11/2008

Agenda

Presentations:

• Welcome
• Best Practices Report
• Introduction impacts Accreditation Regulation
• Draft Guidance Note Project and outline of main deliverables
• Aviation and EU ETS verification and accreditation
• Competent authority's issues: the role and critical elements in a Monitoring Plan (NEa)
• Easyjet and ETS verification
• How smart IT helps monitoring, reporting and verification

Key verification risks and solutions to possible verifiability issues