COMMISSION DECISION
of 17 December 2008
amending Decision 2007/589/EC as regards the inclusion of monitoring and reporting guidelines for emissions of nitrous oxide
(notified under document number C(2008) 8040)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2009/73/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (1), and in particular Articles 14(1) and 24(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
The complete, consistent, transparent and accurate monitoring and reporting of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in accordance with the guidelines laid down in this Decision are fundamental for the operation of the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme (EU ETS) established by Directive 2003/87/EC in relation to installations included in the EU ETS pursuant to Article 24 of that Directive in respect of their emissions of N2O.
(2)
The monitoring and reporting guidelines set out in the Commission Decision 2007/589/EC of 18 July 2007 establishing guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) do not cover emissions of N2O.
(3)
The Netherlands have applied to include N2O emissions from nitric acid plants in the EU ETS for the period 2008-2012.
(4)
Specific guidelines for the determination of N2O emissions by continuous emission measurement systems should therefore be added.
(5)
The global warming potential of 1 tonne of N2O for emissions during the period 2008-2012 should be considered to be equivalent to 310 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is the value provided in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Second Assessment Report (1995 IPCC GWP value). This value should be used in order for there to be absolute consistency between reports by installations and by Member States reporting their national emissions inventories under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol.
(6)
Decision 2007/589/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Climate Change Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Amendments to Decision 2007/589/EC
Decision 2007/589/EC is amended as follows:
1.
in Article 1, the first paragraph is replaced by the following:
‘The guidelines for the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from the activities listed in Annex I to Directive 2003/87/EC, and of activities included pursuant to Article 24(1) of that Directive, are set out in the Annexes to this Decision.’;
2.
in the Table of Annexes, the following entry is added:
‘Annex XIII:
Activity-specific guidelines for determination of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from nitric acid, adipic acid, caprolactam, glyoxal and glyoxylic acid production’;
3.
Annex I is amended as set out in Part A of the Annex to this Decision;
4.
Annex XIII is added as set out in Part B of the Annex to this Decision.
Article 2
Application
This Decision shall apply from 1 January 2008.
Article 3
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 17 December 2008.