Working Subgroup for Climate Change

The main aspects covered by the EU sub-chapter’s directives and regulations relate to actions on climate change such as moving towards low carbon economy; reduction of non-CO2 emissions, including fluorinated greenhouse gases; action on hydrofluorocarbons under the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer; reducing the quantities of hydrofluorocarbons placed on the market, including its effects on the supply for equipment where the use of hydrofluorocarbons greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol.  The requirements of the directives and regulations under this chapter pay a special attention to aspects such as monitoring, reporting, regular assessment, certification and training. More in specific, this sub-chapter includes:

• Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community which establishes a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, referred to as Community scheme, in order to promote reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective and economically efficient manner;
• Directive 1999/94/EC on the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars which aims to ensure that information relating to fuel economy and CO2 emissions of new passenger cars offered for sale or lease in the Community is made available to consumers in order to enable them to make an informed choice;
• Directive 98/70/EC relating to thequality of petrol and diesel fuels, provides for technical specifications on health and environmental grounds for fuels to be used for vehicles equipped with positive-ignition and compression-ignition engines;
• Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide, which establishes the legal framework for the environmentally safe geological storage of CO2 to contribute to the fight against climate change;
• Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases which establishes rules on containment, use, recovery and destruction of fluorinated greenhouse gasses; imposes conditions on the placing on the market of specific products and equipment that contain, or whose functioning relies upon fluorinated greenhouse gases; imposes conditions on specific use of fluorinated greenhouse gases as well as establishes quantitative limits for the placing on the market of hydrofluorcarbons;
• Regulation (EC) 1005/2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer which provides for rules on the production, import, export, placing on the market, use, recovery, recycling, reclamation and destruction of substances that deplete the ozone layer, on the reporting of information related to those substances and on the import, export, placing on the market and use of products and equipment containing or relying on those substances;
• Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change, which establishes a mechanism forensuring the timeliness, transparency, accuracy, consistency, comparability and completeness of reporting by the Union and its Member States to the UNFCCC Secretariat; reporting and verifying information relating to commitments of the Union and its Member States pursuant to the UNFCCC, to the Kyoto Protocol and to decisions adopted thereunder and evaluating progress towards meeting those commitments; monitoring and reporting all anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer in the Member States; monitoring, reporting, reviewing and verifying greenhouse gas emissions and other information pursuant to Article 6 of Decision No 406/2009/EC; reporting the use of revenue generated by auctioning allowances; monitoring and reporting on the actions taken by Member States to adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change in a cost-effective manner; evaluating progress by the Member States towards meeting their obligations under Decision No 406/2009/EC;
• Regulation (EU) 510/2011 setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles which establishes CO2 emissions performance requirements for new light commercial vehicles;
• Regulation (EC) 443/2009 on setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles, which establishes CO2 emissions performance requirements for new passenger cars in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and to achieve the overall objective of the European Community of 120 g CO2/km as average emissions for the new car fleet;
• Decision No 406/2009/EC on greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020, which lays down the minimum contribution of Member States to meeting the greenhouse gas emission reduction commitment of the Community for the period from 2013 to 2020 for greenhouse gas emissions covered by this Decision, and rules on making these contributions and for the evaluation thereof;