The European Parliament adopted by 547 votes to 63 with 45 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
Parliament’s position in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission proposal as follows:
Title and objective: Parliament amended the title to read a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas (rather than carbon dioxide, as stated in the Commission proposal) emissions from maritime transport. Members made it clear that the regulation would apply to monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and not just to carbon monoxide. They recalled that according to the impact assessment accompanying the proposal for this Regulation, Union-related CO 2 emissions from international shipping increased with 48% between 1990 and 2007.
Market-based mesures: Parliament noted that in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from shipping at Union level the best possible option remained implementing a market based measure, namely, pricing of the emissions or a levy, that required setting up a system for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas emissions based on the fuel consumption of ships. Collecting data on such emissions was a first step of a staged approach. Public access to the emissions data would contribute to removing market barriers that prevent the uptake of many cost-negative measures which would reduce emissions from the sector.
Scope: Parliament deleted fish catching or processing ships from the list of ships excluded from the scope of the regulation.
Common principles for monitoring and reporting: monitoring and reporting should be complete and cover CO2 emissions (rather than all emissions as stated in the proposal) from the combustion of fuels, while the ship is at sea as well as at berth. Companies should take account of the recommendations included in the verification reports in their consequent monitoring and reporting.
Methods for monitoring and reporting emissions: these were set out in Annex I. Parliament added that where an international agreement to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport was reached, the Commission should review the methods set out in Annex I and adopt delegated acts concerning amendments to that Annex in order to specify the use of flow meters for applicable combustion processes and direct emission measurements.
Monitoring plan: Parliament specified that by 31 August 2017, companies shall submit to the verifiers a monitoring plan indicating the method chosen to monitor and report emissions and other relevant information for each of their ships above 400 GT (rather than 5000GT as stated in the proposal).
Content of the monitoring plan: this must include a description of the following emission sources and their associated fuel types on board of the ship as follows: (i) main engine(s); (ii) auxiliary engine(s); (iii) boiler(s); (iv) inert gas generator(s).
The plan should also include: (a) the procedures, responsibilities, formulae and data sources for determining and recording the distance travelled and the time spent when navigating through ice; (b) a revision record sheet to record all details of the revision history.
The Commission will be empowered to adopt delegated acts (rather than implementing acts) in order to determine technical rules establishing the templates for the monitoring plans. Parliament added that those templates should be as simple as possible and should not entail needless bureaucracy.
Monitoring may be suspended during periods during which a ship was engaged in emergency situations including life-saving activities.
Monitoring on a per-voyage basis: Parliament added xx energy efficiency as determined in Annex II to the list to be monitored but deleted cargo carried and transport work.
By way of derogation, vessels exclusively operating within the scope of the Regulation and performing multiple voyages per day were exempted from monitoring emissions on a per-voyage basis.
Parliament specified that for deep sea shipping calling a series of Union ports, the European leg should be considered as one voyage.
Monitoring on a yearly basis must include total time spent at berth as well as at sea.
Emission report: the ice class of the ship must be included in the report, as must the certified technical efficiency of the ship expressed by the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) where applicable to the relevant ship type.
Verification: Parliament stated that where the verifier had identified areas for improvement in the company's performance related to the monitoring and reporting of emissions, including in relation to achieving higher accuracy and enhancing efficiency in the monitoring and reporting, it should include in the verification report recommendations for improvement.
Compliance with monitoring and reporting obligations and inspections: the resolution specified that during the course of visits and inspections undertaken by EMSA to monitor the implementation of Directive 2009/16/EC on Port State Control, EMSA would also monitor the application of these provisions by the competent authorities of Member States and report to the Commission.
International cooperation: where an international agreement on global measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport was reached, the Commission should review this Regulation and ensure alignment with the relevant international regulations set by the IMO.
Publication: by 30 June each year, the Commission shall make publicly available the yearly emissions reported, respecting the confidentiality of commercial information to protect a legitimate economic interest.
Delegated acts: the Commission would be empowered to adopt delegated in order to take into account up-to-date scientific evidence available, as well as to align the Annexes with the relevant international regulations as agreed by the IMO, with the aim of ensuring conformity with international regulations
Reporting: Parliament added that the Commission should biennially assess the maritime transport sector's overall impact on the global climate including through non-CO2 emissions or effects, based on the emission data provided by Member States and improve that assessment by reference to scientific advancements and maritime traffic data.
Annexes: Parliament made certain amendments to the Annexes regarding the calculation of fuel consumption and monitoring energy efficiency.