Communication from the Commission - Report on demonstrable progress under the kyoto protocol (required under Article 5(3) of Decision 280/2004/EC concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol) {SEC(2005) 1564}
Date: 2005-12-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: greenhouse effect, industrial pollution, pollution control, prevention of pollution, reduction of gas emissions, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 01.12.2005 
COM(2005) 615 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

REPORT ON DEMONSTRABLE PROGRESS UNDER THE KYOTO PROTOCOL 

(required under Article 5(3) of Decision 280/2004/EC concerning a mechanism for 
monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto 
Protocol) 

{SEC(2005) 1564} 

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Table of Contents 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Background .................................................................................................................. 3 

The EU Towards Kyoto ............................................................................................... 3 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 7 

References .................................................................................................................... 8 

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1. 

BACKGROUND 

The  Report  on  Demonstrable  Progress  is  required  under  Article  5(3)  of  Decision 
280/2004/EC  [1]  concerning  a  mechanism  for  monitoring  Community  greenhouse  gas 
emissions  and  for  implementing  the  Kyoto  Protocol.  This  report  focuses  in  the 
demonstration  of  progress  achieved  by  the  Community,  taking  into  account  updated 
information submitted by Member States by June 15th, 2005. 

The  United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change  (UNFCCC)  is  the 
foundation  of  global  efforts  to  combat  global  warming.  It  has  the  goal  of  preventing 
"dangerous" human interference with the climate system. 

The  Kyoto  Protocol  is  an  international  agreement,  which  builds  on  the  UNFCCC.  It  sets 
legally binding targets for industrialised countries to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions 
relative to a base year by 2008-2012, calculated as an average of these years. These 5 years 
are known as the first commitment period. In practice, discussions on progress tend to refer 
to the year 2010 as the mid-point of the range. 

The Kyoto Protocol offers flexibility in how countries may meet their targets. For example, 
they  may  partially  compensate  for  their  emissions  by  increasing  "sinks"  -  forests,  which 
remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Countries may also pay for foreign projects 
that  result  in  greenhouse-gas  cuts,  through  Joint  Implementation  (JI)  and  the  Clean 
Development Mechanism (CDM) referred to as flexible mechanisms. 

Under  the  Kyoto  Protocol,  the  EU  has  committed  itself  to  reducing  its  greenhouse  gas 
emissions  by  8%  compared  to  the  base  year  (1990)  during  the  first  commitment  period 
2008-2012. This target is shared between the 15 countries that were EU Member States at 
the  moment  of  the  EU’s  ratification  of  the  Protocol  on  31  May  2001  under  a  legally 
binding burden-sharing agreement [2]. This agreement sets an individual emissions target 
for each EU-15 Member State in accordance with Article 4 of the Kyoto Protocol. Article 4 
enables countries to conclude an agreement for a joint target equal to the sum of the targets 
of the participating countries.  

Of  the  ten  Member  States  that  acceded  on  1  May  2004,  eight  have  individual  reduction 
targets  under  the  Kyoto  Protocol,  of  6  or  8%  which  they  will  need  to  honour  separately 
from  the  collective  EU-15  -8%  target.  Cyprus  and  Malta  are  Non-Annex  I  Parties  to  the 
UNFCCC and thus do not have a target under the Kyoto Protocol. 

2. 

THE EU TOWARDS KYOTO  

The European Union, with its 25 Member States, is making considerable efforts to tackle 
climate  change,  despite  being  responsible  for  only  14%  of  global  greenhouse  gas 
emissions.  Robust  domestic  policy-making  supports  the  EU’s  commitment  to  lead  by 
example, with a comprehensive package of policy and legislative measures at the EU level, 
introduced through the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) [3]. Each Member 
State  also  puts  into  place  a  series  of  further  domestic  actions,  discussed  in  their  own 
reports. 

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The ECCP reaches out to a wide range of sectors of the economy, defining policy relevant 
to  the  household,  industrial,  commercial  and  transport  sectors.  The  most  important 
measures include:  

•  The Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Scheme [4] to limit the total carbon 
dioxide  emissions  from  almost  12000  installations  across  the  EU’s  25  Member  States 
(EU-25). 

•  The  Linking  Directive  [5]  which  amends  the  Emissions  Trading  Directive  to  enable 
Member  States  to  allow  operators  to  use  credits  obtained  through  Kyoto  mechanisms 
(certified  emission  reductions  and  emission  reduction  units)  to  comply  with  their 
obligations under the EU ETS. 

•  The  Intelligent  Energy  for  Europe  [6]  programmea  that  promotes  sustainable 
development in an energy context encouraging improvements in energy efficiency, the 
generation  of  renewable  energy,  the  reduction  of  carbon  dioxide  emissions  from  the 
transport  sector  as  well  as  the  promotion  of  renewable  energy  sources  and  energy 
efficiency in developing countries. 

•  The Renewable Electricity Directive [7], which includes an indicative target to increase 
the proportion of the EU-25’s electricity supplied by renewable sources to 21% in 2010 
(14% in 1997), with specific indicative targets for each Member State. 

•  The  Biofuels  Directive  [8],  which  includes  an  indicative  target  of  5.75%  of  transport 

fuels to be biofuels. 

•  The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive [9], which requires Member States to 
adopt energy performance standards, will introduce energy labelling of buildings across 
the EU, along with a requirement to evaluate the opportunities for installing renewable 
energy systems in buildings above a certain size. 

•  The Cogeneration Directive [10] that aims to provide incentives for the development of 

cogeneration (also known as combined heat and power (CHP)). 

•  A  voluntary  commitment  [11]  by  car  manufacturer  associations  to  improve  CO2 

efficiency of new cars by 25% in 2008/2009 with respect to 1995. 

•  The  Landfill  of  Waste  Directive  [12],  which  will  reduce  the  amount  of  waste  sent  to 

landfill and the production of methane associated with its decomposition. 

The  Community  Tax  Framework,  Council  Directive  2003/96/EC  [13]  further  supports 
some of the above-mentioned directives by encouraging the more efficient use of energy 
and  enabling  the  adoption  of  tax  measures  directed  at  CO2  emissions.  In  the  field  of 
research  and  development,  the  6th  EU  RTD  Framework  Programme  (2002-2006)  [14] 
provides more than € 3 billions for developing and demonstrating new technologies related 
to energy, transport and environment. 

a 

A  programme  is  an  EU  instrument  that  provides  financial  support  to  projects  to  meet  the  overall 
objectives of that programme. Eligibility for the funding depends on the programme but is usually 
wide ranging. 

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Other  important  measures  include  the  Energy  Using  Products  (EUP)  Directive  [15]  to 
provide minimum performance standards for many energy-using products and the End-use 
efficiency  and  Energy  Services  Directive  [16].  The  latter  directive  will  help  remove 
barriers to energy efficiency, promote energy services and encourage the establishment of 
energy  efficiency  programmes.  In  addition,  a  regulation  on  fluorinated  gases  and  a 
Directive  on  fluorinated  gases  in  automotive  air  conditioning  systems  are  still  in  the 
legislative process [17]. 

The EU’s climate policy does not stop in 2012. Many of the EU policies that are already in 
place will have an important impact beyond the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period. 
The  EU’s  greenhouse  gas  emissions  trading  scheme  automatically  continues  after  2012. 
The second phase of the European Climate Change Programme was launched in October 
2005 and will include carbon capture and storage, emissions from road vehicles, aviation 
and  strategies  to  adapt  to  the  effects  of  climate  change.  The  role  of  the  EU  in  reducing 
vulnerability  and  promoting  adaptation  will  also  be  explored.  In  addition,  further  policy 
initiatives in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy are foreseen. The 7th RTD 
framework programme [18], along with the established and new Technology Platforms, is 
also looking beyond this horizon and will provide the means for a long-term shift to a CO2 
free  economy  (efficient  renewables,  hydrogen  and  fuel  cells,  zero  emission  fossil  fuel 
power generation, etc.) 

The European Commission has also adopted a Communication outlining key elements for 
a  strategy  for  further  action  post  2012  [19].  While  it  indicates  that  the  EU  is  ready  to 
engage  in  an  open  dialogue  between  countries  concerning  the  further  development  of  an 
international  framework  post  2012,  it  has  highlighted  a  number  of  key  elements  for  a 
successful  global  climate  policy:  the  need  for  broader  participation  by  countries  and 
sectors,  the  development  of  low-carbon  technologies,  the  continued  and  expanded  use  of 
market-based  instruments,  and  the  need  to  adapt  to  the  inevitable  impacts  of  climate 
change.  These  policies  provide  strong,  long-term  signals  to  industry,  Member  State 
governments and the wider international community that the EU is committed to tackling 
climate change and expects all of its institutions, businesses and citizens to play their part. 

The  European  Commission  is  committed  to  implementing  these  measures  to  combat 
climate change, whilst also considering the impacts on  the economic development of  the 
EU  and  its  citizen’s  well  being.  Specifically  the  Commission  committed  itself  in  the 
Communication of February 2005 that it “will review progress and explore new actions to 
systematically exploit cost effective emission reduction options in synergy with the Lisbon 
strategy”. 

The  EU  is  also  working  internationally  to  help  countries  outside  of  the  Union  to  reduce 
their greenhouse gas emissions. It is currently working with 140 countries in six regions of 
the  world  to  assist  in  the  implementation  of  renewable  energy  sources  and  energy 
efficiency, with the aim of improved quality of life and sustainable development. The EU 
provides  financial  support  to  programmes  including  using  solar  energy  to  provide  clean 
drinking water in the Sahel, improved energy efficiency and use of renewables in China, 
forest-planting  projects  to  generate  clean  development  mechanism  incomes  in  South 
America and strengthening institutional capacity on climate change in India. 

Despite drastic reductions  of  a  number of pollutants  in  the  transport sector, this sector is 
currently  responsible  for  20%  of  the  EU-25  emissions.  Specifically,  energy  use  in  the 

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transport  sector  remains  an  area  where  greenhouse  emissions  continue  to  rise.  Policies 
aimed  at  reducing  transportation-related  emissions  include  the  agreement  to  limit  the 
average  emissions  of  new  cars  [11]  and  a  directive  to  encourage  the  use  of  biofuels  [8]. 
The  EU  has  been  able  to  make  important  progress  in  limiting  emissions  per  kilometre 
driven  by  a  vehicle.  The  growth  in  the  number  of  vehicles  and  vehicle  kilometres  has 
however outweighed these reductions and emissions continue to rise though at a lower rate 
than in the past. 

EU policies and other actions by Member States to date, in combination with restructuring 
of  European  industry,  particularly  in  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  have  contributed  to  a 
reduction of annual carbon dioxide emissions of some 350 million tonnes (5.5%) across the 
EU-25 by 2003.  

In the EU-15, existing measures lead to emissions of greenhouse gases without LULUCF 
in  2010  that  are  projected  to  be  1.6%  below  base  year  levels.  Savings  from  additional 
domestic  policies  and  measures  being  planned  by  the  EU-15  would  result  in  emission 
reductions  of  6.8%.  In  addition  to  this,  Member  States  forecast  that  they  will  achieve 
reductions of over 100 Mt CO2-equiv. per year through the use of Kyoto mechanisms. The 
inclusion of Kyoto mechanisms will lower projected emissions in 2010 to 9.3% below base 
year levels.  

In  the  EU  25,  from  the  aggregate  of  Member  States  projections,  total  emissions  of 
greenhouse gases without LULUCF will be 5% below base year levels in 2010 as a result 
of measures already implemented. The implementation of additional measures is projected 
to reduce EU-25 greenhouse gas emissions to 9.3% below 1990 levels by 2010 and the use 
of Kyoto mechanisms to 11.3%. 

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Figure 1: Actual and projected emissions (without LULUCF) for the EU 15 and EU 
25.b 

110

105

100

95

EU-25 emissions

EU-25 existing measures

EU-25 additional
measures
EU-15 emissions

EU-15 existing measures

EU-15 additional
measures
EU-15 target (Kyoto)

EU-15 target + Kyoto
mechanisms
Business as usual

Kyoto mechanisms

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3. 

CONCLUSION 

Considering that the Kyoto Protocol has only recently entered into force (16.02.2005), the 
EU has made significant progress in achieving its commitments. Further progress depends 
on  the  speed  and  thoroughness  of  the  implementation  by  Member  States  of  Community 
legislation  and  domestic  measures.  The  total  of  the  projections  for  the  EU-15  Member 
States  show  that  the  Kyoto  target  of  -8%,  can  be  met  if  Member  States  implement 
additional domestic measures and use flexible mechanisms, as planned.  

Delivering on the Kyoto commitments does not mark the end of the EU’s efforts. The EU 
is  advocating  deeper  cuts  in  greenhouse  gas  emissions  in  order  to  put  a  halt  to  global 
climate change. The EU is committed to taking its fair share of the global efforts to reduce 
human interference with the climate system and has already started to take concrete steps 
towards that direction as outlined above. 

b 

The  index  on  the  y-axis  refers  to  the  base  year.  This  is  1990  for  most  Member  States  for  CO2, 
methane  (CH4)  and  nitrous  oxide  (N2O)  but  1995  for  fluorinated  gases,  with  the  following 
exceptions:  the  base  year  for  CO2,CH4  and  N2O  for  Hungary  is  the  average  of  1985-1987,  for 
Slovenia  1986  and  for  Poland  1988;the  base  year  for  fluorinated  gases  is  1990  for  France  and 
Finland. This means that for EU-15 and EU-25, the value for 1990 is not exactly 100.Business as 
usual represents the projected emissions without climate related policies and measures. 

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4. 

REFERENCES 

1 
Decision 280/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 
February 2004 concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas 
emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol  
http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2004/l_049/l_04920040219en00010008.pdf 

2 
Council Decision 2002/358/EC (OJ L 130 of 15.05.2002) of 25 April 2002 
concerning the approval, on behalf of the European Community, of the Kyoto Protocol to 
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfilment of 
commitments thereunder http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28060.htm 

COM(2001)580 final  of 23.10.2001 - Communication from the Commission on the 

3 
implementation of the first phase of the European Climate Change Programme  

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2001/com2001_0580en01.pdf 

Directive 2003/87/EC (OJ L of the 25.10.2003) of the European Parliament and of 

4 
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 

http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28012.htm 

5 
Directive 2004/101/EC (OJ L 338 of 13.11.2004) of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 27 October 2004 amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme 
for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, in respect of the 
Kyoto Protocol's project mechanisms http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28012.htm 

6 
Decision 1230/2003 (OJ L 176 of 15.07.2003) of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 26 June 2003 adopting a multiannual programme for action in the field of 
energy: ‘Intelligent Energy- Europe’ (2003-2006) 

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2003/l_176/l_17620030715en00290036.pdf 

Directive 2001/77/EC (OJ L 283 of 27.10.2001) of the European Parliament and of 

7 
the Council of 27 September 2001 on the promotion of electricity produced from 
renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market  

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2001/l_283/l_28320011027en00330040.pdf  

Directive 2003/30/EC (OJ L 123 of 17.5.2003) of the European Parliament and of 

8 
the Council of 8 May 2003 on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels 
for transport http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l21046.htm 

Directive 2002/91/EC (OJ L 001 of 04.01.2003) of the European Parliament and of 

9 
the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings 
http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l27042.htm 

Directive 2004/8/EC (OJ L 052 of 21.02.2004) of the European Parliament and of 
10 
the Council of 11 February 2004 on the promotion of cogeneration based on a useful heat 
demand in the internal energy market and amending Directive 92/42/EEC  

http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l27021.htm 

11 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/co2/co2_home.htm 

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Council Directive 1999/31/EC (OJ L 182 of 16.07.1999) of 26 April 1999 on the 

12 
landfill of waste 

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/1999/l_182/l_18219990716en00010019.pdf 

13 
Council Directive 2003/96/EC (OJ L 283 of 31.10.2003) of 27 October 2003 
restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity 

http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l27019.htm 

COM(2001)31 final of 24.01.2001 - Communication from the Commission to the 

14 
Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee 
of the Regions on the Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community 
"Environment 2010: Our future, our choice" as established by Decision 1600/2002/EC (OJ 
L 242 of 10.09.2002) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 
laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme 

http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28027.htm 

Directive 2005/32/EC (OJ L 191 of 22.7.2005) of the European Parliament and of 

15 
the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign 
requirements for energy-using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and 
Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/eco_design/dir2005-32.htm 

COM(2003)739 final of 10.12.2003 - Proposal for a Directive of the European 

16 
Parliament and of the Council on Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy services  

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2003/com2003_0739en01.pdf 

COM(2003)492 final of 11.08.2003 -  Proposal for a Regulation of the European 

17 
Parliament and of the Council on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases  

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2003/com2003_0492en01.pdf 

COM(2005)119 final of 06.04.2005 - Proposal for a Decision of the European 

18 
Parliament and of the Council concerning the seventh framework programme of the 
European Community for research, technological development and demonstration 
activities (2007 to 2013) 

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0119en01.pdf 

COM(2005)35 final of 09.02.2005 - Communication from the Commission to the 
19 
Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the 
Committee of the Regions: “Winning the Battle Against Global Climate Change” 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/climat/pdf/comm_en_050209.pdf 

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