<p>Close to 100 participants attended the 5<sup>th</sup> EU ETS Compliance Conference held in Brussels on the 6<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup> of November 2014. The conference theme was ‘promoting best practice through knowledge sharing and cooperation’.</p>
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- emission trading
- Thursday 6 November 2014, 01:00 - Saturday 8 November 2014, 00:59 (CET)
Practical information
- When
- Thursday 6 November 2014, 01:00 - Saturday 8 November 2014, 00:59 (CET)
- Languages
- English
Description
The 5th EU ETS Compliance Conference was aimed at representatives of Member State (MS) EU ETS Competent Authorities, with the objectives of:
- Sharing information on best practices, learning and experience, leading to effective implementation of EU ETS.
- Providing participants with information on Compliance Forum Task Force activities, as well as achievements, identified challenges, possible improvements and priorities going forward relating to monitoring, reporting, verification and accreditation (MRVA).
- Updating participants on European Commission projects related to EU ETS compliance.
- Providing participants with a wider view of ETS and MRV, highlighting best practices and improving knowledge.
Key compliance issues and best practices were discussed by conference attendees and staff from the European Commission. These discussions provided the MS Competent Authority representatives in attendance with information and insight that will help facilitate more consistent and efficient implementation of Phase III of EU ETS. The conference also promoted the benefits of participation in the Compliance Forum and its Task Forces to Competent Authorities and identified specific priorities for Task Force activities going forward into 2015.
Following an excellent keynote address from Dirk Forrister, President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the Compliance Conference was broken down into a number of key sessions:
- Four break-out sessions on day 1 of the conference (monitoring and reporting, aviation, accreditation and verification and e-reporting), in which participants discussed relevant issues relating to Phase III of EU ETS and looked to identify priorities for the associated Task Forces going forward. The priorities aimed to meet the needs of all EU ETS Competent Authorities and help facilitate overall harmonisation of implementation. Outputs of the break-out sessions were fed back in plenary on day two of the conference.
- A session on international MRV, in which presentations were given looking at the Commission perspective on international MRV, a MS perspective on international MRV and a presentation looking at ICAO progress on a global market-based measure for aviation.
- Presentations from the Commission on the compliance related projects in 2014, including in relation to Article 21 reporting, the MRVA compliance review project and the peer review project. Presentations were also given by host and reviewer MS involved in the peer review project.
The general conclusions drawn from the conference were as follows:
- Harmonisation of implementation is continuously improving across MS noting that this is crucial in ensuring proper implementation of EU ETS.
- Information exchange between all actors (CAs, NABs, verifiers, EA) is central to the implementation of EU ETS. Information exchange has improved in Phase III, but there is still room for further improvements.
- There are a number of key challenges that remain, as recognised from the breakout sessions, which will help inform the priorities for the Compliance Forum Task Forces going forward to 2015.
The day chair concluded the conference with specific conclusions and recommendations for the Task Forces, MS and the Commission to take forward.
Further details concerning the work of the Compliance Forum and its Task Forces can be found in the Compliance Forum Brochure. The Brochure also advises how Member State Competent Authorities can become more involved in Task Force activities, including to remain up to date with latest developments.
Proceedings
- Conference programme
- EU ETS Compliance Forum Brochure
- Keynote address by Dirk Forrister, President and CEO, International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)
- Final conclusions and recommendations
Day 1 Presentations
Breakout session 1: Monitoring and Reporting (M&R)
- TF Monitoring and Reporting objectives, activities and achievements
- Specific M&R challenges and issues
- MRV in the Czech Republic: Challenges and issues
- Tour de table prompts
- Ranking of priorities for the Task Force
Breakout session 2: Aviation
- Aviation Task Force objectives, activities, achievements
- Implementation in France of Regulation 421/2014 and the new exemption threshold
- Aviation specific challenges and potential improvements going forward
- Tour de table topics
Breakout session 3: Accreditation and Verification (A&V)
- Task Force A&V objectives, activities and achievements
- Summary of key output from the 2014 A&V Forum and EA feedback
- Tour de table suggested topics
Breakout session 4: E-Reporting
- Benefits of using IT and a common language: German perspective
- Development of an IT system: Dutch improvements
- UK study on the knowledge and use of EC common language
- DECLARE pilot project
- Summary and priorities for the e-reporting task force (ERTF) going forward
International MRV
- ETS international cooperation and MRV
- International comparison of MRV approaches in Emissions Trading Systems
- ICAO progress on a global market-based measure and international MRV
Day 2 Presentations
Rapporteur feedback on the four breakout sessions
Further plenary presentations
- ETS Article 21 reporting
- 4th EU ETS MRAV Compliance Review: Project update
- 4th EU ETS MRAV Compliance Review: High level findings
- Peer-review 2014: Applied methodology
- Peer-review 2014: High level findings and key outputs
- Peer-review 2014: Host feedback and experience
- Peer-review 2014: Reviewer feedback and experience