The European Commission has proposed new legislation to significantly improve the monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions in line with a series of EU climate and energy targets for 2013-2020.

The proposed legislation will cover emissions from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUFC), aviation and shipping, amongst other sectors.

Although the EU and Member States already collaborate on GHG emissions monitoring and reporting under the terms of a decision adopted in 2004, the proposed new legislation goes a step further, providing greater transparency across a broad range of sectors. The revisions are aimed at improving data quality and ensuring that the EU and Member States can better track progress towards meeting emission targets.

Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, said: "We hope that these new rules will also set an example in the context of the international climate negotiations and serve as a benchmark for transparency of climate action by developed countries."

The revisions of the Monitoring Mechanism will apply to national authorities, following approval by the Council and EU Parliament. Specific monitoring and reporting processes for companies related to emissions covered by the EU ETS are being introduced through separate legislation.

 

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