L_2009140EN.01006301.xml
| 5.6.2009 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 140/63 |
DIRECTIVE 2009/29/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 23 April 2009
amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (3),
Whereas:
| (1) | Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) establishes a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community (Community scheme) in order to promote reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective and economically efficient manner. |
| (2) | The ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 94/69/EC (5), is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. In order to meet that objective, the overall global annual mean surface temperature increase should not exceed 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report shows that in order to reach that objective, global emissions of greenhouse gases must peak by 2020. This implies the increasing of efforts by the Community, the quick involvement of developed countries and encouraging the participation of developing countries in the emission reduction process. |
| (3) | The European Council of March 2007 made a firm commitment to reduce the overall greenhouse gas emissions of the Community by at least 20 % below 1990 levels by 2020, and by 30 % provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and economically more advanced developing countries contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities. By 2050, global greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by at least 50 % below their 1990 levels. All sectors of the economy should contribute to achieving these emission reductions, including international maritime shipping and aviation. Aviation is contributing to these reductions through its inclusion in the Community scheme. In the event that no international agreement which includes international maritime emissions in its reduction targets through the International Maritime Organisation has been approved by the Member States or no such agreement through the UNFCCC has been approved by the Community by 31 December 2011, the Commission should make a proposal to include international maritime emissions according to harmonised modalities in the Community reduction commitment, with the aim of the proposed act entering into force by 2013. Such a proposal should minimise any negative impact on the Community’s competitiveness while taking into account the potential environmental benefits. |
| (4) | In its resolution of 31 January 2008 on the outcome of the Bali Conference on Climate Change (COP 13 and COP/MOP 3) (6), the European Parliament recalled its position that industrialised countries should commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 % by 2020 and by 60 to 80 % by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. Given that it anticipates a positive outcome to the COP 15 negotiations that will be held in Copenhagen in 2009, the European Union should begin to prepare tougher emission reduction targets for 2020 and beyond, and should seek to ensure that, after 2013, the Community scheme allows, if necessary, for more stringent emission caps, as part of the Union’s contribution to a future international agreement on climate change (hereinafter referred to as the international agreement on climate change). |
| (5) | In order to contribute to achieving those long-term objectives, it is appropriate to set out a predictable path according to which the emissions of installations covered by the Community scheme should be reduced. To achieve cost-effectively the commitment of the Community to at least a 20 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels, emission allowances allocated in respect of those installations should be 21 % below their 2005 emission levels by 2020. |
| (6) | In order to enhance the certainty and predictability of the Community scheme, provisions should be specified to increase the level of contribution of the Community scheme to achieving an overall reduction of more than 20 %, in particular in view of the European Council’s objective of a 30 % reduction by 2020 which is considered scientifically necessary to avoid dangerous climate change. |
| (7) | Once the Community and third countries conclude an international agreement on climate change in accordance with which appropriate global action will be taken beyond 2012, considerable support should be given to credit emission reductions made in those countries. In advance of such an agreement, greater certainty should none the less be provided regarding the continued use of credits from outside the Community. |
| (8) | While experience gathered during the first trading period shows the potential of the Community scheme and the finalisation of national allocation plans for the second trading period will deliver significant emission reductions by 2012, a review undertaken in 2007 has confirmed that a more harmonised emission trading system is imperative in order to better exploit the benefits of emission trading, to avoid distortions in the internal market and to facilitate the linking of emissions trading systems. Furthermore, more predictability should be ensured and the scope of the system should be extended by including new sectors and gases with a view to both reinforcing a carbon price signal necessary to trigger the necessary investments and by offering new abatement opportunities, which will lead to lower overall abatement costs and the increased efficiency of the system. |
| (9) | The definition of greenhouse gases should be aligned with the definition contained in the UNFCCC, and greater clarity should be given on the setting and updating of global warming potentials for individual greenhouse gases. |
| (10) | The Community scheme should be extended to other installations the emissions of which are capable of being monitored, reported and verified with the same level of accuracy as that which applies under the monitoring, reporting and verification requirements currently applicable. |
| (11) | Where equivalent measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in particular taxation, are in place for small installations the emissions of which do not exceed a threshold of 25 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, there should be a procedure enabling Member States to exclude such small installations from the emissions trading system for as long as those measures are applied. Hospitals may also be excluded if they undertake equivalent measures. This threshold offers the maximum gain, in relative terms, of reduction of administrative costs for each tonne of CO2 equivalent excluded from the system, for reasons of administrative simplicity. As a consequence of the move from five-year allocation periods, and in order to increase certainty and predictability, provisions should be laid down regarding the frequency of revision of greenhouse gas emission permits. It is for Member States to propose measures applying to small installations which will achieve a contribution to emission reductions equivalent to those achieved by the Community scheme. Such measures could include taxation, agreements with industry and regulation. Taking into account the need to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for smaller emitters, Member States may set up simplified procedures and measures to comply with this Directive. |
| (12) | Information on the application of this Directive should be easily accessible, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). |
| (13) | The Community-wide quantity of allowances should decrease in a linear manner calculated from the mid-point of the period from 2008 to 2012, ensuring that the emissions trading system delivers gradual and predictable reductions of emissions over time. The annual decrease of allowances should be equal to 1,74 % of the allowances issued by Member States pursuant to Commission Decisions on Member States’ national allocation plans for the period from 2008 to 2012, so that the Community scheme contributes cost-effectively to achieving the commitment of the Community to an overall reduction in emissions of at least 20 % by 2020. |
| (14) | This contribution is equivalent to a reduction of emissions in 2020 in the Community scheme of 21 % below reported 2005 levels, including the effect of the increased scope from the period from 2005 to 2007 to the period from 2008 to 2012 and the 2005 emission figures for the trading sector used for the assessment of the Bulgarian and Romanian national allocation plans for the period from 2008 to 2012, leading to an issue of a maximum of 1 720 million allowances in 2020. Exact quantities of emissions will be calculated once Member States have issued allowances pursuant to Commission decisions on their national allocation plans for the period from 2008 to 2012, as the approval of allocations to some installations was contingent upon their emissions having been |
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