Monitoring Emissions

Mechanism for monitoring greenhouse gases

Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 — mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and other information relevant to climate change

This regulation, the Monitoring Mechanism Regulation (MMR), significantly expands and strengthens the previous mechanism for monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU.

It aims to enhance the monitoring and reporting procedures and rules for GHG emissions.
Incorporating new reporting and monitoring requirements arising from the EU’s 2020 Climate and Energy Package and from recent decisions adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), it replaces the old monitoring mechanism established under Decision 280/2004/EC.

KEY POINTS

The regulation:

enhances the monitoring, reporting and review procedures and rules, which allows for the implementation of domestic and international commitments;
establishes an EU-wide greenhouse gas inventory* system that seeks to strengthen transparency and completeness between the GHG inventories of EU countries;
incorporates EU countries’ information on their planning and strategies for adaptation to climate change, covering aspects such as flooding, draughts and extreme temperatures;
strengthens the reporting by the EU and EU countries on financial and technological support provided to developing countries; and
ensures the timeliness, transparency, accuracy, comparability and completeness of data reported by the EU and EU countries.

It has applied since 8 July 2013.

BACKGROUND

Following various international climate negotiations and new UNFCCC requirements, as well as taking into account new legislative developments at EU level, Decision 280/2004/EC, which contained less stringent measures to monitor EU GHG emissions and implement the Kyoto Protocol, needed to be significantly improved.
In 2013, the EU adopted its Monitoring Mechanism Regulation repealing Decision 280/2004/EC. This ensured that it has in place a robust reporting mechanism on EU projections, policies and measures in regard to greenhouse gas emissions.

Every year, the European Commission publishes its climate action progress report. It also reports regularly to the UN.
For more information, see:
‘Emissions monitoring and reporting’ on the European Commission’s website
‘Climate change’ on the European Environment Agency’s website.

Greenhouse gas inventory: this is an emissions inventory that keeps track of 7 different greenhouse gases coming from all sectors, including

energy,
industrial processes,
waste,
agriculture, and
land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF).
The EU’s greenhouse gas inventory is prepared each year by the European Commission, assisted by the European Environment Agency.

DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 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 (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, pp. 13-40)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 666/2014 of 12 March 2014 establishing substantive requirements for a Union inventory system and taking into account changes in the global warming potentials and internationally agreed inventory guidelines pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, pp. 26-30)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 749/2014 of 30 June 2014 on structure, format, submission processes and review of information reported by Member States pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Official Journal L 203, 11.7.2014, pp. 23-90)

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: Progress towards achieving the Kyoto and EU 2020 objectives (required under Article 21 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 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) (COM(2014) 689 final of 28 October 2014)

Greenhouse gas emissions – monitoring & reporting mechanism

The EU Monitoring Mechanism Regulation (MMR) updates the system for monitoring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions. The EU and EU countries must now provide better quality data in their reports and cover new areas, such as low-carbon strategies.

SUMMARY

This Regulation revises and strengthens the EU’s greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring and reporting framework, in order to provide a better platform for EU action to tackle climate change.

At the heart of this framework is the GHG monitoring mechanism, established in 1993 to enable the EU and EU countries to track progress in reducing the man-made emissions that contribute to climate change – including the commitment to a 20% European emissions reduction by 2020.

The revised GHG mechanism’s main goals include:

improving the quality of data reported;
enabling implementation of the 2009 EU Climate and Energy package by accurately tracking the progress of the EU and EU countries towards meeting their emission targets for 2013-20;
taking into account the latest international guidance on using measures (global warming potential of gases) and methodologies (IPCC Guidelines) when producing greenhouse gas inventories.

New reporting obligations

Low-carbon development strategies (making the European economy more climate-friendly and less energy-consuming): must be prepared by EU countries and the European Commission on behalf of the EU according to any internationally agreed reporting provisions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. EU countries must report on these strategies by 9 January 2015 and every second year thereafter.

National systems for GHG policies, measures and projections: must be set up and run by the European Commission and EU countries. The aim is to enhance the timeliness, transparency, accuracy, consistency, comparability and completeness of the information in their reports.

In the context of fighting climate change, EU countries must also report on their:

financial/technical support to developing countries ;
use of revenues from the auctioning of allowances in the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) (at least half of these revenues must be spent on fighting climate change in the EU and other countries).

The Regulation provides the legal basis for and will guide an internal EU review of EU countries’ adaptation to climate change. This review will cover the emissions data for sectors such as housing, agriculture, waste and transport (not aviation or international shipping), in line with the Effort Sharing Decision (Decision 406/2009/EU).

REFERENCES

Regulation (EU) No 525/2013