The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Vladimir URUTCHEV (PPE, BG) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 as regards the technical implementation of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The committee recommended that the position of Parliament adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal. The amendments consist of new recitals regarding the following points:
Net clearance exercise: as for the unit management processes in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, the Commission should provide a periodic net clearance exercise whereby transfers of AAUs are undertaken to reflect net transfers of Union allowances, including transfer of emission allowances with third countries participating in the EU ETS which are not part of the joint fulfilment agreement (e.g. Norway and Liechtenstein).
This issue should be dealt with in the delegated acts to be adopted in accordance to the Regulation.
International rules not yet adopted: the relevant international rules governing the accounting for emissions and progress towards achievement of commitments should be adopted at the next climate conference in Lima in December 2014.
Members stated that the Commission should work therefore with the Member States and third countries to help ensure the formal adoption of the Kyoto Protocol accounting rules at the Lima climate conference. The outcome of those rules should be reflected in the implementation of the Union registry and the delegated acts envisaged in the Regulation.
EU’s 2050 climate target: as a result of significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the Union, which were due to climate policies as well as economic circumstances, there would be a significant surplus of AAUs, CERs (certified emissions reductions) and ERUs on the Union and Member States accounts for the second Kyoto Protocol commitment period.
Pursuant to Decision 1/CMP.8, which required Parties to revisit, by 2014, their reduction commitments for the second commitment period, the Union and the Member States should cancel a number of units to align with projected real emissions, and as a minimum with a cost-effective domestic emission trajectory towards the achievement of the Union's 2050 climate target.
Lastly, the report specified that the Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.