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The EU has hinted for some time at pushing forward with a regional initiative when it comes to CO2 and shipping, and now we have it. In late June the industry was presented with their new draft regulation on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of CO2 from shipping. Lloyd's Register has prepared the following summary of European Union Proposal for Regulation on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of CO2.
On 28 June 2013, the European Commission published its finalised proposal fora European Union (EU) regulation on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of CO2 emissions from ships. The regulation, No. 525/2013, is introduced further to the EU's Climate and Energy Package, adopted on 23 April 2009, which seeks international agreement including emission reduction targets through the IMO or the UNFCCC.
The regulation will apply to certain vessels conducting voyages into, out of and between EU ports and will require annual reporting of their CO2 emissions in line with a verified monitoring plan. The purpose of the regulation is to provide reliable information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within maritime transport. As a first step the regulation is intended to focus on, and establish, CO2 emissions which will then allow the EU to define reduction targets associated with this and finally the means to achieve those reduction targets, as appropriate.
If the regulation is approved by both the European Council and European Parliament, then it will enter into force on 1 July 2015.
The Proposed Regulation
What is MRV?
A monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) scheme for GHG emissions provides a standard framework to produce a GHG emissions inventory, which may form part of a regulated GHG emissions reduction scheme and therefore is the basis for setting a GHG reduction trajectory or may be applied voluntarily across an industry specific sector to develop an emissions inventory. The EU proposal for an MRV regulation focuses on CO2 only at this stage, recognising that, despite estimates, the amount of CO2 from shipping is unknown. The Commission's view is therefore that a system for monitoring and reporting these emissions is a pre-requisite before the introduction of any further energy efficiency measures or GHG reduction measures.
Why is this being implemented?
In 2010, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), recognised that global warming must not exceed pre-industrial levels by more than 2 degrees centigrade and, in order to do so, this would require GHG emissions reductions of 50% less than 1990 levels by 2050. In committing to this, the EU stated that it would consider further action on shipping GHGs should there be no international agreement and possibly implement a regional market based measure (MBM) if the IMO failed to introduce an international scheme.
In late 2012 the EU stated that it would no longer seek to do this and the focus from the EU is now to take steps towards setting up the MRV framework which could provide the first step towards achieving their absolute emissions reductions.
How will it be implemented?
The EC plan a phased approach to regulating CO2 from shipping as follows:
Phase 1 Implement MRV and establish CO2 emissions from maritime transport.
Phase 2 Establish an agreed global energy efficiency standard as part of the regulation.
Phase 3 Identify whether the efficiency standards are achieving the EU's desired absolute CO2 emissions reductions and what else should be done e.g. introduction of an MBM.
How does it apply?
The regulation will apply to all ships greater than 5,000 GRT undertaking one or more voyages into, out of and between EU ports and will require per-voyage and yearly monitoring of CO2 emissions, as well as other parameters including energy efficiency metrics. Annually, 'companies' (DOC holder) must provide an emissions report for the previous calendar year's activity. In addition, this will include the technical efficiency of the ship (the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) or the Estimated Index Value (EIV) in accordance with IMO Resolution MEPC.215 (63), where applicable).
When does reporting occur?
Reporting periods are defined over a calendar year. At present the EC acknowledges that further clarification is required in regard to the precise closing date of the current reporting period and whether this should occur at the end of the previous voyage, at the exact point mid voyage that coincides with the actual date/time of the end of the reporting period or the end of the current voyage.
To simplify the preparation of monitoring plans, reporting and verification of emissions and other climate relevant information, electronic templates will be provided by the EC. The following timescales have been proposed as part of the regulation:
• 31 August 2017 - Monitoring plan to be prepared and submitted for verification
• 1 January 2018 - Commence per-voyage monitoring
• 2019 onwards - By 31 April each year, submit a verified emission report to the EC and relevant flag state.
• 30 June 2019 onwards - Ships will need to carry a valid document of compliance relating to the relevant reporting period.
• 30 June each year - EC will make each ship's emissions reports publicly available including information specific to that ship, its fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, technical efficiency (EEDI or EIV as appropriate) along with other parameters.
Post to be found at:
http://www.carbonpositive.net/media-centre/industry-updates/1627-eu-proposal-for-regulation-on-shipping-emissions.html
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