Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2016)618 - Report to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount of the EU and Iceland pursuant the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2016)618 - Report to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount of the EU and Iceland pursuant the Kyoto Protocol for the second ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2016)618  |
| date | 23-09-2016 |
Contents
- Brussels, 23.9.2016
- Table 1 Choice of base years for different greenhouse gases for the EU Member States and Iceland for the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol
- Table 2 Assigned amounts of the Member States and Iceland (taking into account Article 3, paragraph 7bis of the Kyoto Protocol)
- Table 3 Commitment period reserves for the European Union, Member States and Iceland
- Table 6 Information on the use of the provision to exclude emissions from natural disturbances
COM(2016) 618 final
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION
Report to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount of the European Union, and the report to facilitate the calculation of the joint assigned amount of the Union, its Member States and Iceland pursuant to Article 3(7bis), (8) and (8bis) of the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period, as required under Article 3(2) of Council Decision (EU) 2015/1339
{SWD(2016) 316 final}
1. Introduction
This report and the accompanying Staff Working Document constitute the report to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount of the European Union (EU), and the report to facilitate the calculation of the joint assigned amount of the Union, its Member States and Iceland pursuant to Article 3(7bis), (8) and (8bis) of the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period and to demonstrate the capacity of the EU, its Member States and Iceland to account for their emissions and assigned amount in accordance with decision 2/CMP.8 of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, as required under Article 3(2) of Council Decision (EU) 2015/1339 1 . They will be transmitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The calculation of the assigned amount under the Kyoto Protocol in this report is a precondition for the accounting of the EU’s greenhouse gas emission reduction target in the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. This report also includes information on the choices related to specific accounting options under the Kyoto Protocol.
2. Inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol
The complete joint inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol for all years from the base year to the year 2014 for the EU, its Member States and Iceland is submitted to the UNFCCC as a separate document in conjunction with this report in accordance with paragraph 1(a) of Annex I to Decision 2/CMP.8.
3. Identification of base years for the second commitment period
The joint inventory reflects the base years as chosen by the Member States and Iceland in their national inventories. An overview is presented below:
Table 1 Choice of base years for different greenhouse gases for the EU Member States and Iceland for the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol
| Member State | Base year for CO2, CH4 and N2O | Base year for HFCs, PFCs and SF6 | Base year for NF3 |
| Austria | 1990 | 1990 | 2000 |
| Belgium | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Bulgaria | 1988 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Croatia | 1990 | 1990 | 2000 |
| Cyprus | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Czech Republic | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Denmark | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Estonia | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Finland | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| France | 1990 | 1990 | 1995 |
| Germany | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Greece | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 |
| Hungary | 1985-1987 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Ireland | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Italy | 1990 | 1990 | 1995 |
| Latvia | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Lithuania | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Luxembourg | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Malta | 1990 | 1990 | 1995 |
| Netherlands | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Poland | 1988 | 1995 | 2000 |
| Portugal | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 |
| Romania | 1989 | 1989 | 2000 |
| Slovakia | 1990 | 1990 | 2000 |
| Slovenia | 1986 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Spain | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Sweden | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| United Kingdom | 1990 | 1995 | 1995 |
| Iceland | 1990 | 1990 | 1995 |
4. Terms of the joint fulfilment under Article 4 of the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period
The EU, its Member States and Iceland have agreed to fulfil their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments under Article 3 of the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol jointly, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 thereof. The Union, its Member States and Iceland agreed to a quantified emission reduction commitment that limits their average annual emissions of greenhouse gases during the second commitment period to 80 % of the sum of their base year emissions, which is reflected in the Doha Amendment.
Article 4 of the Kyoto Protocol requires parties that agree to fulfil their commitments under Article 3 of the Kyoto Protocol jointly to set out in the relevant joint fulfilment agreement the respective emission level allocated to each of the parties. Council Decision (EU) 2015/1339 sets out the terms of the joint fulfilment agreement as well as the respective emission levels of each Party to that agreement. The Agreement between the EU, its Member States and Iceland, concerning Iceland's participation in the joint fulfilment of commitments by the EU, its Member States and Iceland for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol sets out the terms governing Iceland's participation. 2 The emission levels define the Member States’ and Iceland’s assigned amounts for the second commitment period. These emission levels have been determined on the basis of the existing Union legislation for the period 2013-2020 under the ‘Climate and Energy package’ 3 .
5. Calculation of the assigned amounts pursuant to Article 3(7bis), (8) and (8bis)
The joint assigned amount of the EU, its Member States and Iceland for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol is equal to the percentage inscribed for the Union, its Member States and Iceland in the third column of Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol as replaced by the Doha Amendment (80 %) of its base year emissions multiplied by eight. The joint assigned amount resulting from this calculation is
37 625 402 324 tonnes of CO2eq.
This assigned amount of the EU is determined in line with the terms of the joint fulfilment agreement and equals 15 834 334 860 tonnes of CO2eq.
The assigned amounts of the Member States and Iceland are also determined in accordance with the terms of the joint fulfilment agreement and are listed in Table 2.
Table 2 Assigned amounts of the Member States and Iceland (taking into account Article 3, paragraph 7bis of the Kyoto Protocol)
| Member State | t CO2 eq. |
| Austria | 405 712 317 |
| Belgium | 584 228 513 |
| Bulgaria | 222 945 983 |
| Croatia | 162 271 086 |
| Cyprus | 47 450 128 |
| Czech Republic | 520 515 203 |
| Denmark | 269 363 657 |
| Estonia | 51 056 976 |
| Finland | 240 544 599 |
| France | 3 014 714 832 |
| Germany | 3 592 699 888 |
| Greece | 480 791 166 |
| Hungary | 434 486 280 |
| Ireland | 343 520 594 |
| Italy | 2 410 291 421 |
| Latvia | 76 633 439 |
| Lithuania | 113 600 821 |
| Luxembourg | 72 191 526 |
| Malta | 9 299 769 |
| Netherlands | 924 777 902 |
| Poland | 1 583 938 824 |
| Portugal | 429 581 969 |
| Romania | 656 059 490 |
| Slovakia | 202 268 939 |
| Slovenia | 99 425 782 |
| Spain | 1 766 877 232 |
| Sweden | 315 554 578 |
| United Kingdom | 2 744 937 332 |
| Iceland | 15 327 217 |
6. Calculation of the commitment period reserve in accordance with Decision 11/CMP.1
For the purposes of the joint fulfilment, the commitment period reserve applies to the EU, its Member States and Iceland individually. Table 3 provides the commitment period reserves calculated for the European Union, its Member States and Iceland.
| Country | Commitment period reserve [t CO2eq] |
| European Union | 21 777 272 968 |
| Austria | 365 141 085 |
| Belgium | 525 805 662 |
| Bulgaria | 200 651 385 |
| Croatia | 146 043 977 |
| Cyprus | 42 705 115 |
| Czech Republic | 468 463 683 |
| Denmark | 242 427 291 |
| Estonia | 45 951 278 |
| Finland | 216 490 139 |
| France | 2 713 243 349 |
| Germany | 3 233 429 899 |
| Greece | 432 712 049 |
| Hungary | 391 037 652 |
| Ireland | 309 168 535 |
| Italy | 2 169 262 279 |
| Latvia | 68 970 095 |
| Lithuania | 102 240 739 |
| Luxembourg | 64 972 374 |
| Malta | 8 369 792 |
| Netherlands | 832 300 112 |
| Poland | 1 425 544 942 |
| Portugal | 386 623 772 |
| Romania | 590 453 541 |
| Slovakia | 182 042 045 |
| Slovenia | 89 483 204 |
| Spain | 1 590 189 509 |
| Sweden | 283 999 120 |
| United Kingdom | 2 470 443 599 |
| Iceland | 13 794 495 |
7. Identification of the selection of single minimum values for tree crown cover, land area and tree height for use in accounting under Article 3(3) and (4)
Member States have selected threshold values for the forest definition for reporting on the activities afforestation, reforestation and deforestation under Article 3(3) and forest management, if elected under Article 3(4) of the Kyoto Protocol for the first commitment period. As the EU aggregates Member States’ information, the same values are used as those elected by Member States for the required single minimum values for tree crown cover, land area and tree height in accordance with the forest definition used for reporting to the FAO.
Table 4 - Member States’ and Iceland`s selection of threshold values for the forest definition for reporting under Article 3(3) and (4)
| Member State | Minimum value for tree crown cover | Minimum tree height | Minimum area for forest land area |
| Austria | 30 % | 2 m | 0.05 ha |
| Belgium | 20 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| Bulgaria | 10 % | 5 m | 0.1 ha |
| Croatia | 10 % | 2 m | 0.1 ha |
| Cyprus | 10 % | 5 m | 0.3 ha |
| Czech Republic | 30 % | 2 m | 0.05 ha |
| Denmark | 10 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| Estonia | 30% | 2 m | 0.5 ha |
| Finland | 10 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| France | 10 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| Germany | 10 % | 5 m | 0.1 ha |
| Greece | 25 % | 2 m | 0.3 ha |
| Hungary | 30 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| Ireland | 20 % | 5 m | 0.1 ha |
| Italy | 10 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| Latvia | 20 % | 5 m | 0.1 ha |
| Lithuania | 30 % | 5 m | 0.1 ha |
| Luxembourg | 10 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| Malta | 30 % | 5 m | 1 ha |
| Netherlands | 20 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| Poland | 10 % | 2 m | 0.1 ha |
| Portugal | 10 % | 5 m | 1 ha |
| Romania | 10 % | 5 m | 0.25 ha |
| Slovakia | 20 % | 5 m | 0.3 ha |
| Slovenia | 30 % | 2 m | 0.25 ha |
| Spain | 20 % | 3 m | 1 ha |
| Sweden | 10 % | 5 m | 0.5 ha |
| United Kingdom | 20 % | 2 m | 0.1 ha |
| Iceland | 10 % | 2 m | 0.5 ha |
8. Election of activities under Article 3(4), for inclusion in the accounting for the second commitment period
Table 5 presents an overview of the Member States’ and Iceland´s elections of activities under Article 3(4) as reported in their reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount for the second commitment period.
Table 5 Overview of Member States’ and Iceland’s election of LULUCF activities under Article 3(4) of the Kyoto Protocol
| Member State | Cropland management | Grazing land management | Revegetation | Wetland Drainage and rewetting |
| Austria | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Belgium | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Bulgaria | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Croatia | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Cyprus | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Czech Republic | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Denmark | Elected | Elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Estonia | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Finland | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| France | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Germany | Elected | Elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Greece | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Hungary | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Ireland | Elected | Elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Italy | Elected | Elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Latvia | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Lithuania | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Luxembourg | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Malta | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Netherlands | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Poland | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Portugal | Elected | Elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Romania | Not elected | Not elected | Elected | Not elected |
| Slovakia | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Slovenia | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Spain | Elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| Sweden | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected | Not elected |
| United Kingdom | Elected | Elected | Not elected | Elected |
| Iceland | Not elected | Not elected | Elected | Not elected |
9. Identification of the frequency of accounting for activities under Article 3(3) and (4)
Member States and Iceland identify the accounting frequency for the activities under Article 3(3) and (4) in their respective reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount. All Member States chose to account at the end of the commitment period, except for Denmark and Hungary, which chose to account annually.
10. Forest Management Reference Levels as inscribed in the appendix to the annex to decision 2/CMP.7
Paragraph 1(i) of Annex I to Decision 2/CMP.8 requires reporting of the forest management level and any technical corrections as contained in the inventory report. EU Member States and Iceland reported this information in their reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount of and in their most recent greenhouse gas inventories.
11. Information on how emissions from harvested wood products originating from forests prior to the start of the second commitment period have been calculated in the reference level in accordance with decision 2/CMP.7 annex, paragraph 16
Information on how emissions from harvested wood products originating from forests prior to the start of the second commitment period have been calculated in the reference level in accordance with decision 2/CMP.7, annex, paragraph 16 is provided in the reports to facilitate the calculation of the assigned amount submitted by EU Member States and Iceland and in their most recent inventory submissions.
12. Accounting for natural disturbances
An overview on the decisions of Member States whether they intend to use the provisions to exclude emissions from natural disturbances is provided below.
| Countries | Afforestation/Reforestation | Forest Management |
| Austria | No | Yes |
| Belgium | No | Yes |
| Bulgaria | Yes | Yes |
| Croatia | Yes | Yes |
| Cyprus | No | Yes |
| Czech Republic | No | No |
| Denmark | No | No |
| Estonia | No | Yes |
| Finland | No | Yes |
| France | Yes | Yes |
| Germany | No | No |
| Greece | Yes | Yes |
| Hungary | No | No |
| Ireland | Yes | Yes |
| Italy | Yes | Yes |
| Latvia | No | No |
| Lithuania | No | No |
| Luxembourg | Yes | Yes |
| Malta | Yes | Yes |
| Netherlands | Yes | Yes |
| Poland | No | No |
| Portugal | Yes | Yes |
| Romania | Yes | Yes |
| Slovakia | No | No |
| Slovenia | No | No |
| Spain | Yes | Yes |
| Sweden | Yes | Yes |
| United Kingdom | Yes | Yes |
| Iceland | Yes | Yes |
13. Description of the national system
The European Union already had a quantified emission limitation and reduction target in the first commitment period and provided a description of its national system in the report to calculate the assigned amount of the first commitment period. Subsequently, any changes that occurred to the EU national system were reported as part of the annual supplementary information under Article 7 of the Kyoto Protocol and included in the national inventory report.
The institutions which were part of the EU inventory system and responsible for the EU inventory preparation during the first commitment period remain the same at the start of the second commitment period. The Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA) of the European Commission has overall responsibility for the inventory of the EU while each Member State is responsible for the preparation of its own inventory which is the basic input for the inventory of the EU. DG CLIMA is supported in the establishment of the inventory by the following main institutions: the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation (ETC/ACM) as well as the following other Directorates General of the European Commission: Eurostat and the Joint Research Centre (JRC).
14. Description of the national registry
For the purpose of meeting their obligations as Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and under Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 4 ("Monitoring Mechanism Regulation"), each Member State and the EU operate a Kyoto Protocol national registry. In accordance with Decisions 13/CMP.l and 24/CP.8 the Member States and the Union operate their national registries in a consolidated manner.
(1) Council Decision (EU) 2015/1339 of 13 July 2015 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfilment of commitments thereunder, OJ L 207, 4.8.2015. p. 1-14.
(2) OJ L 207, 4.8.2015, p. 17
(3) Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community and 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.
(4) 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