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
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to 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 (1), and in particular Articles 7(7), 7(8), 8(2), 12(3), 17(4) and 19(5) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
The information reported to the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 is necessary to enable the assessment of the actual progress towards meeting the Union's and the Member States' commitments relating to the limitation or reduction of all greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) approved by Council Decision 94/69/EC (2), its Kyoto Protocol approved by Council Decision 2002/358/EC (3) and the set of Union legal acts, adopted in 2009, collectively referred to as the ‘Climate and Energy Package’. It also enables the preparation of annual reports by the Union in accordance with the obligations under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.
(2)
Decision 19/CMP.1 of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol lays down the guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventory systems the Parties to the Convention should apply. In Decision 24/CP.19 of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC on the revision of the UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual inventories for Parties included in Annex I to the UNFCCC, the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC agreed on the use by the Parties to the UNFCCC of the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse gas inventories, the use of new IPCC global warming potential values and revised common reporting format tables as included in an Annex to that Decision.
(3)
Following the replacement of Decision No 280/2004/EC (4) by Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, Commission Decision No 2005/166/EC (5) laying down rules implementing Decision 280/2004/EC needs to be updated in order to take into account the changes in the internationally agreed guidelines and to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of those provisions that are new in the Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 as compared to Decision 280/2004/EC. Such uniform implementing provisions should cover the reporting of greenhouse gas inventories, approximated greenhouse gas inventories, information on systems for policies and measures and projections, the use of auctioning revenue and project credits and for the purposes of Decision No 529/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (6). Given the number of changes that are necessary to Decision No 2005/166/EC it is appropriate to repeal and replace it.
(4)
To ensure that compliance with Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) is assessed in a credible, consistent, transparent and timely manner, Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 sets up at Union level a review process of the greenhouse gas inventories submitted by the Member States. It is necessary to determine the timing and steps for the conduct of the comprehensive and annual reviews of Member States' greenhouse gas inventories to ensure the timely and effective implementation of the review process.
(5)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No C(2014) 1539 (8) establishes substantive requirements for the Union inventory system to fulfil the obligations set out in Decision 19/CMP.1 of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. To ensure the timely and effective implementation of the obligations, it is necessary to lay down timescales for cooperation and coordination between the Commission and the Member States in preparing the Union greenhouse gas inventory report.
(6)
To ensure legal certainty concerning the reporting obligations of the Union and of the Member States upon expiration of the additional period for fulfilling commitments of the Kyoto Protocol, the effects of Articles 18, 19 and 24 of Decision No 2005/166/EC should be maintained.
(7)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Climate Change Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
SUBJECT MATTER AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation establishes rules implementing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 as regards the following:
(a)
Member States' reporting of greenhouse gas inventories, approximated greenhouse gas inventories and of information on policies and measures and projections, on the use of auctioning revenue and of project credits pursuant to Articles 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, and 17 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013;
(b)
Member States' reporting for the purposes of Decision No 529/2013/EU;
(c)
the timing and steps for the conduct of the comprehensive and annual reviews of Member States' greenhouse gas inventories pursuant to Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013;
(d)
timescales for the cooperation and coordination between the Commission and the Member States in preparing the Union greenhouse gas inventory report.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)
‘common reporting format table’ means a table for information on anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks included in Annex II to Decision 24/CP.19 of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Decision 24/CP.19) and in the Annex to Decision 6/CMP.9 of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol;
(2)
‘reference approach’ means the reference approach by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as contained in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories as applicable pursuant to Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No C(2014) 1539.
(3)
‘approach 1’ means the basic method included in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines or the 2003 IPCC Good Practice Guidelines;
(4)
‘key category’ means a category which has a significant influence on a Member State's or the Union's total inventory of greenhouse gases in terms of the absolute level of emissions and removals, the trend in emissions and removals, or uncertainty in emissions and removals;
(5)
‘sectoral approach’ means the IPCC sectoral approach, as contained in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.
CHAPTER II
REPORTING BY MEMBER STATES
Article 3
General rules for reporting greenhouse gas inventories
1. Member States shall report the information referred to in Article 7(1) to (5) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 to the Commission with a copy to the European Environment Agency by completing, in accordance with Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No C(2014) 1539 and with the rules provided for in this Regulation:
(a)
the common reporting format tables by providing a complete set of spread sheets or Extensible Markup Language (XML) files, depending on the availability of the appropriate software, and covering that Member State's geographical scope under Regulation (EU) No 525/2013;
(b)
the standard electronic format for reporting Kyoto Protocol units and the related reporting instructions as adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol;
(c)
the Annexes I to VIII and X to XV to this Regulation.
2. The complete national inventory report referred to in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 shall be drafted based on the structure set out in the Appendix to the UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual greenhouse gas inventories as included in Annex I to Decision 24/CP.19 and following the rules provided for in this Regulation.
Article 4
Reporting in the National Inventory Report or in an annex to the National Inventory Report
1. Member States shall include the information and the tabular formats required by Articles 6, 7, 9 to 16 in the National Inventory Report or in a separate annex to the National Inventory Report, as specified in Annex I.
2. Where Member States may choose whether the information and the tabular formats to be reported are included in the National Inventory Report or in a separate annex to the National Inventory Report, Member States shall clearly indicate where the information is provided by completing Annex I.
Article 5
Processes for reporting
Member States shall use the ReportNet tools of the European Environment Agency, provided pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 401/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9), for the submission of the information under Articles 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 to 17 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
Article 6
Reporting on national inventory systems
1. Member States shall report the information on their national inventory systems referred to in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 in textual format, specifying:
(a)
the name and contact information for the national entity with overall responsibility for the national inventory of the Member State;
(b)
the roles and responsibilities of various agencies and entities in relation to the inventory planning, preparation and management process, as well as the institutional, legal and procedural arrangements made to prepare the inventory;
(c)
a description of the process for collecting activity data, for selecting emission factors and methods, and for developing emission estimates;
(d)
a description of the approaches used and the results of key category identification;
(e)
a description of the processes which determine when recalculations of previously submitted inventory data are performed;
(f)
a description of the quality assurance and quality control plan, its implementation and the quality objectives established, and information on internal and external evaluation and review processes and their results in accordance with the guidelines for national systems set out in the Annex to Decision 19/CMP.1 of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol;
(g)
a description of the procedures for the official consideration and approval of the inventory.
2. Member States shall report a description of the arrangements made to ensure access of the competent inventory authorities to the information referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 including information on the organizations providing the information, the regular scheduling of the access to information, the level of disaggregation and completeness to which access is provided.
Article 7
Reporting on consistency of the reported data on air pollutants
1. Member States shall report textual information on the results of the checks referred to in Article 7(1)(m)(i) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and on the consistency of the data pursuant to Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 including:
(a)
a brief assessment whether the emissions estimates of carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds, in inventories submitted by the Member State under Directive 2001/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) and under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution are consistent with the corresponding emission estimates in greenhouse gas inventories under Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
(b)
the submission dates of the reports under Directive 2001/81/EC and under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution that were compared with the inventory submission under Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
2. Where the checks referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article result in differences of more than +/-5 % between the total emissions excluding Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) for a particular air pollutant reported under Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and respectively under Directive 2001/81/EC or the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution for the year X-2, the Member State concerned shall report in accordance with the tabular format set out in Annex II to this Regulation in addition to the textual information pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article for that air pollutant.
3. Member States may report only textual information if the difference of more than +/- 5 % referred to in paragraph 2 derives from correction of data errors, differences in geographical coverage or in scope of application in between the respective legal instruments.
Article 8
Reporting on recalculations
Member States shall report the reason for recalculations of the base year or period and of year X-3 referred to in Article 7(1)(e) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 in the tabular format set out in Annex III to this Regulation.
Article 9
Reporting on implementation of recommendations and adjustments
1. Under Article 7(1)(j) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, Member States shall report on the status of implementation of each adjustment and of each recommendation listed in the most recently published individual UNFCCC review report, including reasons for not implementing such a recommendation, in accordance with the tabular format specified in Annex IV to this Regulation.
2. Member States shall report on the status of implementation of each recommendation listed in the most recent review report pursuant to Article 35(2) in accordance with the tabular format specified in Annex IV.
Article 10
Reporting on consistency of reported emissions with data from the emissions trading scheme
1. Member States shall report the information referred to in Article 7(1)(k) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 in accordance with the tabular format set out in Annex V to this Regulation.
2. Member States shall report textual information on the results of the checks performed pursuant to Article 7(1)(l) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
Article 11
Reporting on consistency of the data reported on fluorinated greenhouse gases
Member States shall report textual information on the results of the checks referred to in Article 7(1)(m)(ii) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 including:
(a)
a description of the checks performed by the Member State concerning the level of detail, the data sets and the submissions compared;
(b)
a description of the main results of the checks and explanations for the main inconsistencies;
(c)
information whether the data collected by operators under Article 3(6) of Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 (11) has been made use of and how;
(d)
where the checks have not been performed, an explanation of the reasons why the checks were not considered to be relevant.
Article 12
Reporting on consistency with energy data
1. Under Article 7(1)(m)(iii) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, Member States shall report textual information on the comparison between the reference approach calculated on the basis of the data included in the greenhouse gas inventory and the reference approach calculated on the basis of the data reported pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12) and Annex B to that Regulation.
2. Member States shall provide quantitative information and explanations for differences of more than +/- 2 % in the total national apparent fossil fuel consumption at aggregate level for all fossil fuel categories for the year X-2 in accordance with the tabular format set out in Annex VI.
Article 13
Reporting on changes in descriptions of national inventory systems or registries
Member States shall clearly state in the relevant chapters of the national inventory report if there have been no changes in the description of their national inventory systems or of their national registries referred to in Article 7(1)(n) and (o) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 since the previous submission of the national inventory report.
Article 14
Reporting on uncertainty and completeness
1. For the purposes of reporting on uncertainty under Article 7(1)(p) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, Member States shall report approach 1 uncertainty estimates for
(a)
emission levels and trends and
(b)
activity data and emission factors or other estimation parameters used at the appropriate category level using the tabular format set out in Annex VII to this Regulation.
2. The general assessment of completeness referred to in Article 7(1)(p) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 shall include:
(a)
an overview of the categories that have been reported as not estimated (NE), as defined in the UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual greenhouse gas inventories included in Annex I to Decision 24/CP.19, and detailed explanations for the use of this notation key especially where the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories provide methods for estimation of greenhouse gases;
(b)
a description of the geographical coverage of the greenhouse gas inventory.
3. Where a Member State submits inventories with different geographical coverage under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol and under Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, that Member State shall provide a short description of the principles and methods applied to distinguish emissions and removals reported for the Union's territory from emissions and removals reported for non-Union territories when compiling the inventory for the Union's territory of the respective Member State.
Article 15
Reporting on other elements for the preparation of the Union greenhouse gas inventory report
1. To enable the preparation of the Union greenhouse gas inventory report as referred to in Article 7(1)(p) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, Member States shall report the information on the methods and emission factors used for those categories identified as Union key category in the relevant XML files and common reporting format tables.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Commission shall provide the list of most recent Union's key categories by 31 October of the year prior to the inventory submission.
3. Member States shall explain and interpret past emission trends and inter-annual variations at aggregate level in each sector including reference to the main drivers identified to have significant impacts on the trends. The focus shall lie on the explanation of changes in the most recent inventory year compared with 1990 and on explanations of significant inter-annual variations for the most recent years of reporting, in particular from year X-3 to year X-2.
Article 16
Reporting on major changes to methodological descriptions
By 15 March of each year, Member States shall report the major changes to the methodological descriptions in the national inventory report since its submission due on 15 April of the previous year, in the tabular format set out in Annex VIII.
Article 17
Reporting approximated greenhouse gas inventories
1. Member States shall report approximated greenhouse gas inventories as referred to in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, in accordance with the common reporting format table - Summary table 2 as following:
(a)
at a level of disaggregation of source categories reflecting the activity data and methods available for the preparation of estimates for the year X-1;
(b)
excluding the total approximated CO2 equivalent emissions and removals from LULUCF;
(c)
adding two columns for reporting the split between emissions included in the scope of the Union's emissions trading scheme established by Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (13) and emissions covered by Decision No 406/2009/EC by source category, where available.
2. Member States shall provide explanations including on main drivers for the trends in emissions reported in Summary table 2 compared to the inventory already reported. Such explanation shall reflect only the information available for the preparation of estimates for the year X-1.
Article 18
Timescales for cooperation and coordination in preparing the Union greenhouse gas inventory report
Member States and the Commission shall cooperate and coordinate in the preparation of the Union greenhouse gas inventory and of the Union inventory report and comply with the time-limits set out in Annex IX.
Article 19
Reporting on the determination of the assigned amount
Member States shall submit a report with the information necessary to facilitate the calculation of the joint assigned amount and the assigned amount of the Union pursuant to Article 3, paragraphs 7bis, 8 and 8bis of the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period in accordance with Annex I to Decision 2/CMP.8 related to that report, to the Commission three months prior to the time limit for submission of that report to the UNFCCC.
Article 20
Reporting on national systems for policies and measures and projections
Member States shall report on national systems for policies and measures and projections referred to in Article 13(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, including:
(a)
information concerning the relevant institutional, legal and procedural arrangements, including the designation of the appropriate national entity or entities entrusted with overall responsibility for the policy evaluation of the Member State concerned and for the projections of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions;
(b)
a description of relevant institutional, legal and procedural arrangements established within a Member State for evaluating policy and for making projections of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks;
(c)
a description of the relevant procedural arrangements and timescales to ensure the timeliness, transparency, accuracy, consistency, comparability and completeness of the information reported on policies and measures and the information reported on projections;
(d)
a description of the overall process for the collection and use of data, together with an assessment of whether consistent processes for collection and use of data are underpinning the evaluation of policies and measures and the making of projections as well as the different projected sectors in the making of projections;
(e)
a description of the process for selecting assumptions, methodologies and models for policy evaluation, and for making projections of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions;
(f)
a description of the quality assurance and quality control activities and of the sensitivity analysis for projections carried out.
Article 21
Reporting on updates to Member States' low-carbon development strategies
Member States shall report on updates of their low-carbon development strategies referred to in Article 13(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, including information concerning:
(a)
the objective and a short description of the update carried out;
(b)
the legal status of the low-carbon development strategy and of its update;
(c)
the changes and expected impacts of the update on the implementation of the low-carbon development strategy;
(d)
the timeline and a description of the progress for the implementation of the low-carbon development strategy and of its update, and where available, an assessment of the projected costs and benefits associated with the update;
(e)
the manner in which the information is made available to the public pursuant to Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
Article 22
Reporting on policies and measures
1. Member States shall report the information on policies and measures referred to in Article 13(1)(c), (d) and (e) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 in accordance with the tabular formats set out in Annex XI to this Regulation and using the reporting template provided and the submission process introduced by the Commission.
2. Member States shall report qualitative information regarding the links between the different policies and measures reported pursuant paragraph 1 and the way such policies and measures contribute to the different projection scenarios including an assessment of their contribution to the achievement of a low-carbon development strategy, in a textual format in addition to the tabular format referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 23
Reporting on projections
1. Member States shall report the information on projections of anthropogenic greenhouse gases emissions by sources and removals by sinks referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 in accordance with the tabular formats set out in Annex XII to this Regulation, using the reporting template provided and the submission process introduced by the Commission.
2. Member States shall provide additional information, in a textual format, regarding:
(a)
the results of the sensitivity analysis for the total reported greenhouse gas emissions, together with a brief explanation on which parameters were varied and how.
(b)
the results of the sensitivity analysis split on total emissions covered by Decision No 406/2009/EC, total emissions included in the scope of the Union's emissions trading scheme established by Directive 2003/87/EC and total LULUCF emissions when such information is available;
(c)
the year of inventory data (base year) and year of inventory report used as a starting point for the projections;
(d)
the methodologies used for the projections, including a brief description of models used and their sectoral, geographical and temporal coverage, references for further information on the models and information on key exogenous assumptions and parameters used.
3. Nine months before the time-limit for submission of a report on projections pursuant to Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 525/2013 and in consultation with the Member States, the Commission shall recommend harmonised values for key supra-nationally determined parameters including carbon prices under emission trading scheme, international oil and coal import prices, with a view of ensuring consistency of the aggregated Union projections.
Article 24
Reporting on the use of auctioning revenues
Member States shall report the information on the use of auctioning revenues referred to in Article 17(1)(b) and (c) and Article 17(2) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 in accordance with the tabular formats set out in Annex XIII to this Regulation.
Article 25
Reporting on the project credits used for compliance with Decision No 406/2009/EC
Member States shall report the information on the project credits used for compliance with Decision No 406/2009/EC referred to in Article 17(1)(a) and (d) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 in accordance the tabular format set out in Annex XIV to this Regulation.
Article 26
Reporting on summary information on concluded transfers
1. Member States shall report the summary information on concluded transfers pursuant to Article 3(4) and (5) of Decision No 406/2009/EC in accordance with the tabular format set out in Annex XV to this Regulation.
2. The Commission services shall compile and make available electronically a report summarizing the information provided by Member States on annual basis. Such report shall provide only aggregated data and shall not disclose information from individual Member States on prices per unit of annual emission allocation.
CHAPTER III
UNION EXPERT REVIEW OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Article 27
Organisation of the Reviews
1. In conducting the reviews referred to in Article 19(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 the Commission and the European Environment Agency shall be supported by a technical experts review team.
2. The European Environment Agency shall act as Secretariat for the reviews.
3. The Commission and the European Environment Agency shall select a sufficient number of review experts and covering the appropriate inventory sectors in order to ensure an adequate review of the greenhouse gas inventories concerned within the time period available.
4. The review experts selected pursuant to paragraph 3 shall have experience in the area of greenhouse gas inventories compilation and, preferably be active in greenhouse gas review processes.
5. A member of the technical experts review team who has contributed to the compilation of an individual Member State's greenhouse gas inventory, or who is a national of the Member State' whose inventory is concerned, shall not take part in the review of that inventory.
6. The Commission and the European Environment Agency shall strive to ensure that the review of greenhouse gas inventories is performed consistently across all Member States concerned and in an objective manner, in order to ensure a high quality of the resulting technical assessments.
7. The reviews shall be carried out as desk-based or centralized reviews.
8. The Secretariat may decide to organize:
(a)
a desk-based and centralized review in the same year;
(b)
an in-country visit in addition to the desk-based or centralized reviews upon recommendation of the technical experts review team and in consultation with the Member State concerned.
Article 28
Tasks of the Secretariat
The tasks of the Secretariat referred to in Article 27(2) shall include:
(a)
preparing the work plan for the review;
(b)
compiling and providing the information necessary for the work of the technical experts review team;
(c)
coordinating the review activities as set out in this Regulation, including the communication between the technical experts review team and the designated contact person or persons of the Member State under review, as well as making other practical arrangements;
(d)
confirming cases where Member State's greenhouse gas inventories present significant issues in the meaning of Article 31, in consultation with the Commission;
(e)
compiling and editing the final and interim review reports and communicating them to the Member State concerned and to the Commission.
Article 29
First step of the annual review
The checks to verify the transparency, accuracy, consistency, comparability and completeness of the information submitted referred to in Article 19(3)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 may include:
(a)
an assessment whether all emission source categories and gases required under Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 are reported;
(b)
an assessment whether emissions data time series are consistent;
(c)
an assessment whether implied emission factors across Member States are comparable taking the IPCC default emission factors for different national circumstances into account;
(d)
an assessment of the use of ‘Not Estimated’ notation keys where IPCC tier 1 methodologies exist and where the use of the notation key is not justified in accordance with paragraph 37 of the UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual greenhouse gas inventories as included in Annex I to Decision 24/CP.19;
(e)
an analysis of recalculations performed for the inventory submission, in particular if the recalculations are based on methodological changes;
(f)
a comparison of the verified emissions reported under the Union's Emissions Trading System with the greenhouse gas emissions reported pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 with a view of identifying areas where the emission data and trends as submitted by the Member State under review deviate considerably from those of other Member States;
(g)
a comparison of the results of Eurostat's reference approach with the Member States' reference approach;
(h)
a comparison of the results of Eurostat's sectoral approach with the Member States' sectoral approach;
(i)
an assessment whether recommendations from earlier Union or UNFCCC reviews, not implemented by the Member State could lead to a technical correction;
(j)
an assessment whether there are potential overestimations or underestimations relating to a key category in a Member State's inventory.
Article 30
Trigger for the second step of the annual review
In the framework of the annual review, where the checks pursuant to Article 29 identify significant issues in the meaning of Article 31, at a Member State's request, in case of late submission of the inventory that prevents the carrying out of the first step review checks pursuant to the timeline as set out in Annex XVI or in case of a lack of response to the first step review results, the checks set out in Article 32 shall be carried out.
Article 31
Threshold of significance
1. Recommendations from earlier Union or UNFCCC reviews which have not been implemented shall constitute a significant issue under Article 19(4)(a) of Regulation No (EU) 525/2013 if the recommendation or question concern overestimates or underestimates of greenhouse gas inventory data which could lead to a technical correction and if that Member State has not provided satisfactory explanation for the lack of implementation of that recommendation.
2. An underestimate or overestimate of inventory data that amounts to below 0.05 per cent of a Member State's total national greenhouse gas emissions without LULUCF for the year of the inventory under review or that does not exceed 500 kt CO2 equivalent, whichever is smaller, shall not be considered a significant issue under Article 19(4)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
Article 32
Second step of the annual review
1. The checks to identify cases where inventory data is prepared in a manner which is inconsistent with the UNFCCC guidance documentation or Union rules referred to in Article 19(3)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 may include:
(a)
detailed examination of the inventory estimates including methodologies used by the Member State in the preparation of inventories;
(b)
detailed analysis of the Member State's implementation of recommendations related to improving inventory estimates as listed in its most recent UNFCCC annual review report made available to that Member State before the submission under review or in the final review report pursuant to Article 35(2) of this Regulation; where recommendations have not been implemented a detailed analysis of the justification provided by the Member State for not implementing them;
(c)
detailed assessment of the time series consistency of the greenhouse gas emissions estimates;
(d)
detailed assessment whether the recalculations made by a Member State in the given inventory submission as compared to the previous one are transparently reported and made in accordance with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories;
(e)
follow-up on the results of the checks referred to in Article 29 of this Regulation and on any additional information submitted by the Member State under review in response to questions from the technical experts review team and other relevant checks.
2. A Member State that wishes to undergo the checks referred to in paragraph 1 upon request, shall notify the Commission by 31 October of the year preceding the year when the relevant review takes place.
Article 33
Comprehensive Review
1. The comprehensive review referred to in Article 19(1) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 shall include the checks pursuant to Articles 29 and 32 of this Regulation for the whole inventory.
2. The comprehensive review may include checks to identify whether problems identified for one Member State in the UNFCCC or Union reviews may also constitute a problem for other Member States.
Article 34
Technical corrections
1. A technical correction shall be deemed necessary in the meaning of Article 19(3)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 if an underestimate or overestimate exceeds the threshold of significance pursuant to Article 31 of this Regulation. Only the technical corrections deemed necessary shall be included in the final review report referred to in Article 35(2) of this Regulation accompanied by evidence based justification.
2. Should a technical correction exceed the threshold of significance for at least one year of the inventory under review but not for all the years of the time series, the technical correction shall be calculated for all the other years under review in order to ensure time series consistency.
Article 35
Review Reports
1. By 20 April of every year with an annual review, the Secretariat shall inform the Member State concerned of any significant issues pursuant to Articles 30 and 31 by means of an interim review report. Such report shall address issues that have been raised no later than by 31 March.
2. The Secretariat shall inform the Member State concerned of the end of the review by means of a final review report as follows:
(a)
by 20 April in the case where no interim report was sent pursuant to paragraph 1;
(b)
by 30 June at the end of the second step of the annual review;
(c)
by 30 August at the end of the comprehensive review.
Article 36
Cooperation with Member States
1. Member States shall:
(a)
participate in all the steps of the review pursuant to the schedule as set in Annex XVI;
(b)
nominate a National contact point for the Union's review;
(c)
participate in and facilitate in close cooperation with the Secretariat the organisation of an in-country visit, if needed;
(d)
provide answers and additional information and comment on the review reports as relevant.
2. Upon request by the Member States, comments regarding the review findings shall be included in the final review report.
3. The Commission shall inform the Member States of the composition of the technical experts review team.
Article 37
Schedule for the reviews
The comprehensive and the annual reviews shall be carried out pursuant to the schedules set out in Annex XVI.
CHAPTER IV
REPORTING FOR THE PURPOSES OF DECISION No 529/2013/EU
Article 38
Avoidance of double reporting
To the extent that a Member State includes information in its national inventory report and in accordance with Article 3 of this Regulation that is required also pursuant to Decision No 529/2013/EU, that Member State shall be deemed to have complied with its respective reporting obligations under that Decision.
Article 39
Reporting requirements on systems for cropland management and grazing land management
1. To the extent that a Member State has not included information in its national inventory report as set out in Article 38 of this Regulation, it shall report textual information on the systems in place and being developed to estimate emissions and removals from cropland management or grazing land management as referred to in point (a) of the second subparagraph of Article 3(2) of Decision No 529/2013/EU including the following elements:
(a)
a description of the institutional, legal and procedural arrangements made in accordance with the requirements for national systems under the Kyoto Protocol as set out in the Annex to Decision 19/CMP.1 and in accordance with the requirements for national arrangements under the UNFCCC reporting guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories as set out in Annex I to Decision 24/CP.19.
(b)
a description of the manner in which the systems implemented are consistent with the methodological requirements of the IPCC report ‘2013 Revised Supplementary Methods and Good Practice Guidance Arising from the Kyoto Protocol’, the ‘2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories’ and, as applicable, with the ‘2013 Supplement to 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands’.
2. Member States shall submit the information set out in paragraph 1 as a separate report to the Commission pursuant to the following schedule:
(a)
the first report in the year 2016 for the reporting year 2014 including all developments starting with 1 January 2013,
(b)
the second report in the year 2017 for the reporting year 2015 and,
(c)
the third report in the year 2018 for the reporting year 2016.
3. Member States shall focus the information included in the reports subsequent to the first report on any changes and developments that have occurred for their systems compared with the information included in their previous report.
Article 40
Reporting requirements on annual estimates of emissions and removals from cropland management and grazing land management
1. Member States that did not elect cropland management or grazing land management under the Kyoto Protocol shall report initial, preliminary and non-binding annual estimates of emissions and removals from cropland management or grazing land management as referred in point (b) of the second subparagraph of Article 3(2) of Decision No 529/2013/EU by including information for the relevant base year or period specified in Annex VI to Decision No 529/2013/EU.
2. The first annual report shall be submitted in the year 2015 for the reporting year 2013.
3. Member States to which paragraph 1 of this Article applies shall submit final annual estimates of emissions and removals from cropland management or grazing land management pursuant to point (c) of the second subparagraph of Article 3(2) of Decision No 529/2013/EU for all reporting years for the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020, by including final information for the relevant base year or period specified in Annex VI to Decision No 529/2013/EU.
4. When providing the information specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article Member States shall comply with the following requirements:
(a)
complete all relevant common reporting format tables as included in the Annex to Decision 6/CMP.9 for the respective activity under the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period, including the cross-cutting tables on activity coverage, the land transition matrix and the information table on accounting, and
(b)
include explanatory information on methodologies and data used as required in the national inventory report in accordance with Decision 2/CMP.8 under the Kyoto Protocol and its Annex II.
Article 41
Specific reporting requirements
1. By derogation from Article 38 of this Regulation, where a Member State reports for its accounting obligation under the Kyoto Protocol information in accordance with the provisions on forest plantations set out in paragraphs 37 to 39 of the Annex to Decision 2/CMP.7, it shall submit for the purpose of its obligations under Decision No 529/2013/EU separate common reporting format tables for the activities of forest management and deforestation completed without the application of the provisions in paragraphs 37 to 39 of the Annex to Decision 2/CMP.7.
2. By derogation from Article 38 of this Regulation, where a Member State which did not elect cropland management or grazing land management under the Kyoto Protocol reports information on wetland drainage and rewetting for its accounting under that protocol and where that Member State applies Article 3(3) of Decision No 529/2013/EU, it shall submit separate common reporting format tables for those activities completed in accordance with that Decision.
Article 42
Submission of information
1. The information corresponding to the reporting requirements set out in Articles 39, 40 and 41 of this Regulation shall be submitted to the Commission as a separate annex to the national inventory report referred to in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
2. To the extent that Article 38 of this Regulation does not apply, for their reporting obligations pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) and Article 3(3) of Decision No 529/2013/EU Member States shall report in accordance with Article 3 of this Regulation and include the corresponding information in the annex to the national inventory report referred to in Article 7(3) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
Article 43
Reporting at the end of an accounting period
For the purposes of Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 Member States shall submit information in accordance with Article 3 of this Regulation and in accordance with the provisions set out in this Chapter.
CHAPTER V
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 44
Repeal and transitional provision
Decision No 2005/166/EC is repealed. The effects of Articles 18, 19 and 24 shall be maintained.
Article 45
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 30 June 2014.