REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant 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
Date: 2018-02-01
Institutions: Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, Kyoto Protocol, adaptation to climate change, delegated legislation, environmental monitoring, pollution control, powers of the institutions (EU), reduction of gas emissions, tradeable emission permit, transfer of competence

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 1.2.2018 COM(2018) 52 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant 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. Introduction and legal basis 

The  Climate  Monitoring  Mechanism  Regulation  (MMR)1  lays  down  a  robust  transparency 
framework for greenhouse gas emissions and other information relevant to climate change. It 
includes  the  elements  necessary  to  track  progress  of  the  implementation  of  EU  climate 
legislation,  notably  the  Effort  Sharing  Decision2,  and  the  EU's  international  commitments 
under  the  United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change  (UNFCCC)  and  the 
Kyoto Protocol. 

The MMR empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts, as referred to in Article 25(2), 
with a view to: 

  establishing substantive requirements for a Union inventory system, as provided for in 

Article 6(2); 

  adding or deleting substances to or from the list of greenhouse gases in Annex I to the 
MMR or adding, deleting or amending indicators in its Annex III, and taking account 
of  changes  in  global  warming  potentials  and  internationally  agreed  inventory 
guidelines, as provided for in Article 7(6); and 

  setting up the Union registry, as referred to in Article 10(4). 

The  present  report  is  required  under  Article  25(2)  of  the  MMR.  Under  Article  25(2),  the 
Commission has the power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 6, 7 and 10(4) for a 
period  of  five  years  from  8  July  2013.  The  Commission  is  required  to  prepare  a  report  in 
respect of this delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year 
period. 

The MMR has been amended in 2014 as regards the technical implementation of the Kyoto 
Protocol3.  By  this  amendment,  the  Commission  has  furthermore  been  empowered  to  adopt 
delegated  acts  related  to  the  technical  implementation  of  the  second  commitment  period  of 
the  Kyoto  Protocol  in  the  Union,  as  provided  for  in  Article  10(5)  and  (6)  of  the  MMR. 
According to Article 25(2a) of the MMR, the powers referred to in Article 10(5) and (6) have 
been  conferred  on  the  Commission  from  the  date  of  conclusion  by  the  Union  of  the  Doha 
Amendment  to  the  Kyoto  Protocol  to  the  end  of  the  additional  period  for  fulfilling 
commitments under the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. As these powers 
have  been  conferred  on  the  Commission  for  a  precisely  defined  time  period  without 
extension, and are not referred to in Article 25(2), they are not covered in this report. 

1  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 (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 13). 
2 Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of Member States 
to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 
2020 (OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 136). 
3 Regulation (EU) No 662/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Regulation (EU) 
No 525/2013 as regards the technical implementation of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention 
on Climate Change (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 155). 

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On  30  November  2016,  the  Commission  put  forward  a  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  the 
Governance  of  the  Energy  Union4.  The  proposal  fully  integrates  the  MMR  to  promote 
integration between the energy and climate fields, repealing the MMR as of 1 January 2021. 
Until that date, the MMR will remain in force as the relevant framework for monitoring and 
reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals and other climate information. 

2. Exercise of the delegation 

2.1.  Substantive  requirements  for  a  Union  inventory  system  and  taking  into  account 
changes  in  the  global  warming  potentials  and  internationally  agreed  inventory 
guidelines (Articles 6(2) and 7(6)(b)) 

Article  6(2)  empowers  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  concerning  the  substantive 
requirements  for  a  Union  inventory  system  in  order  to  fulfil  the  obligations  pursuant  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, which lays down the guidelines for national systems the 
Parties  should  apply.  On  12  March  2014,  the  Commission  adopted  the  Commission 
Delegated Regulation (EU) No 666/20145. This Regulation specifies the rules on the Union 
inventory  system  in  order  to  fulfil  international  obligations  as  required  by  Decision 
transparency,  accuracy,  consistency, 
timeliness, 
19/CMP.1.  It 
comparability  and  completeness  of  reporting  of  greenhouse  gas  emissions  to  the  UNFCCC 
Secretariat.  It  sets  out  the  requirements  of  the  Union  inventory  system,  further  specifying 
rules on the preparation and administration of the Union greenhouse gas inventory including 
rules  on  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  during  the  annual  reporting  process  and  the 
UNFCCC inventory review. 

thereby  ensures 

the 

Article 7(6)(b) empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to take account of changes 
in  global  warming  potential  values  and  internationally  agreed  inventory  guidelines  in 
accordance  with  relevant  decisions  adopted  by  the  bodies  of  the  UNFCCC  or  the  Kyoto 
Protocol  or  of  agreements  deriving  from  them  or  succeeding  them.  Commission  Delegated 
Regulation  (EU)  No  666/2014  takes  account  of  these  changes  and  lays  down  rules  with 
regard  to  the  global  warming  potential  values  and  the  internationally  agreed  inventory 
guidelines  to  be  used  by  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission  in  the  determination  and 
reporting  of  the  greenhouse  gas  inventory,  thereby  ensuring  consistency  with  the 
implementation  of  monitoring  and  reporting  requirements  under  the  UNFCCC  and  Kyoto 
Protocol.  

4  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  Governance  of  the  Energy  Union, 
amending Directive 94/22/EC, Directive 98/70/EC, Directive 2009/31/EC, Regulation (EC) No 663/2009, Regulation (EC) 
No  715/2009,  Directive  2009/73/EC,  Council  Directive  2009/119/EC,  Directive  2010/31/EU,  Directive  2012/27/EU, 
Directive 2013/30/EU and Council Directive (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013, COM(2016) 759 
final. 
5 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 666/2014 of 12 March 2014 establishing substantive requirements for a Union 
inventory  system  and  taking  into  account  changes  in  the  global  warming  potentials  and  internationally  agreed  inventory 
guidelines pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L179, 19.6.2014, p. 
26). 

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The Commission will continue to monitor whether new decisions are adopted at international 
level which would warrant changes. If appropriate, it will aim at adopting delegated acts in 
this regard. 

2.2 Annex I and Annex III of the MMR (Article 7(6)(a)) 

Article 7(6)(a) empowers the Commission to add or delete substances to or from the list of 
greenhouse gases in Annex I to the MMR or to add, delete or amend indicators in Annex III 
to the MMR in accordance with relevant decisions adopted by the bodies of the UNFCCC or 
the  Kyoto  Protocol  or  of  agreements  deriving  from  them  or  succeeding  them.  The 
Commission considers that no decisions have been adopted by bodies of the UNFCCC or the 
Kyoto Protocol which would lead to the Commission invoking this legal basis. Therefore, the 
Commission  has  not  made  use  of  this  empowerment  yet.  The  Commission  will  continue  to 
monitor the developments at international level and, if appropriate, prepare delegated acts in 
this regard. 

2.3. Setting up the Union Registry (Article 10(4)) 

Commission  Regulation (EU)  No  389/20136  lays down  the  registries  system  which  ensures 
the accurate accounting of transactions under the Union emission trading scheme (EU ETS)7, 
the  Kyoto  Protocol,  and  the  Effort  Sharing  Decision.  The  legal  basis  for  the  Registry 
Regulation is set out in three legal acts: the EU Emissions Trading System Directive (Article 
19), the MMR (Article 10(4), and Articles 10(5) and (6) as regards the second commitment 
period  of  the  Kyoto  Protocol),  and  the  Effort  Sharing  Decision  (Article  11(3)).  As  the 
Registry  Regulation  was  adopted  before  the  entry  into  force  of  the  MMR,  the  Registry 
Regulation has been based on its predecessor, the Monitoring Mechanism Decision8 (Article 
6(1)).  Article  10(4)  of  the  MMR  provides  for  the  continued  legal  basis  for  the  Registry 
Regulation  in  relation  to  the  Kyoto  Protocol.  The  Commission  has  not  yet  adopted  a  new 
delegated act on the basis of Article 10(4) of the MMR. However, the revision of the Registry 
Regulation  is  ongoing  and  the  expected  scope  of  the  amendment  will  include  provisions 
relating to the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Therefore, the use of this legal 
basis is foreseen.   

3. Conclusion 

Over  the  past  five  years,  the  Commission  has  adopted  one  delegated  act  establishing 
substantive requirements for a Union inventory system and taking into account changes in the 
global warming potentials and internationally agreed inventory guidelines. The Commission 

6 Commission Regulation (EU) No 389/2013 of 2 May 2013 establishing a Union Registry pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC 
of the European Parliament and of the Council, Decisions No 280/2004/EC and No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament 
and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulations (EU) No 920/2010 and No 1193/2011 (OJ L122, 3.5.2013, p. 1), 
the Registry Regulation. 
7  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 (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32). 
8 Decision No 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 (OJ L 49, 19.2.2004, p. 1). 

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will  continue  to  monitor  the  developments  at  international  level  and  if  appropriate  prepare 
delegated  acts  to  ensure  consistency.  The  Commission  will  also  continue  monitoring  the 
implementation  of the adopted  delegated regulations and provide for changes to these  rules 
should the practical developments require it.  

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