8th EU ETS Compliance Conference

The 8th EU ETS Compliance Conference was attended by over 100 participants, bringing together representatives from almost every Member State to share in the latest insights and experiences related to EU ETS compliance and enforcement, and Monitoring Reporting Verification and Accreditation (MRVA) in particular.

During the 2-day conference a total of 32 speakers contributed to a set of very informative and inspiring presentations referring to various elements of climate policy and implementation, but predominantly EU ETS MRVA. An initial plenary session was started with a key note address from Bert Metz, Fellow at the European Climate Foundation, based on a presentation entitled "What does the Paris Agreement mean for the EU". This was followed by an outline from Peter Zapfel of the European Commission on the process and progress made towards long-term agreement of the EU ETS revision for Phase 4.

Further plenary presentations during the course of the conference provided summaries on the current review and update of the EU ETS MRVA regulations, IT developments in support of EU ETS, accreditation and related ISO standards, and the Commission's further plans and projects aimed at supporting EU ETS MRVA from 2018 onwards. The audience was also provided a presentation on achievements and further planned activities in support of a national ETS in China, as well as on another international initiative concerning maritime emissions.

In addition to the plenary presentations four Breakout sessions were held to promote interactive discussions on even more specific and in-depth issues:

• Breakout session I was focused on challenges for consistent and effective inspection and enforcement. This session concluded that there is a real need for more sharing of knowledge and experiences on inspection and enforcement including in the form of capacity building, with considerable support noted for a training event sooner rather than later.
• Breakout session II considered existing and future opportunities for facilitating reporting, including two examples where simplified monitoring plans are being applied.
• Breakout session III allowed exchange of thoughts and ideas on five topics that may be particularly relevant to MRVA implementation in Phase 4.
• Breakout session IV discussed recent developments and planned activities in connection with aviation, including the potential impacts of CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) and Swiss-linking.

In closing this year’s Compliance Conference, a rapporteur from each Breakout session shared the main points covered and conclusions drawn with the wider audience, before the Conference Chairperson for the final plenary session invited comment on a number of overall observations and proposed take-home messages. This included a conclusion that there is still great interest and importance attached to the role of the Compliance Forum in further harmonising efficient and effective implementation of EU ETS. He further observed that the Compliance Forum still provides a unique platform in which the European Commission and the Member State competent authorities cooperate to make a success of EU ETS.

The full proceedings of the conference are presented below:

Proceedings

• Conference programme
• Conference summary
• Keynote address by Bert Metz, Fellow at European Climate Foundation
• Concluding messages to take home

Day 1 Presentations

Morning plenary presentations

• Plenary – Peter Zapfel EU ETS reform and impact on MRVA
• Plenary - Hubert Fallmann Update MRVA regulations

Breakout session I: Inspection and enforcement

• BO1 - Marc Allessie Introduction
• BO1 - Ton Grosjean Triple security mechanism
• BO1 - Georgios Zisis-Tegos UNFCCC international procedures
• BO1 - Sandra Pezelj Mestric Inspections Croatia
• BO1 - Berki Gabor Inspections Hungary
• BO1 - Annette Prendergast Lessons site inspections Ireland
• BO1 - Questions

Breakout session II: Opportunities to facilitate reporting

• BO2 - Christian Heller Existing simplification
• BO2 - Thomas Wilhelm Fonfara Standardised MPs in Denmark
• BO2 - Tomas Velghe Simplified MPs in Flanders
• BO2 - Christian Heller Future simplification
• BO2 - Andrew Matterson Simplifications through e-reporting

Afternoon plenary presentations

• Plenary - Johannes Enzmann China ETS
• Plenary - Heidi Hiltunen Maritime developments IMO GHG action

Day 2 Presentations

Morning plenary presentations

• Plenary - Robert Gemmill Commission Projects and Plans 2018
• Plenary - Peter Hissnauer Accreditation and ISO standards

Breakout session III: practical issues implementation MRVA phase IV

• BO3 - Iain Weatherall improvement reporting
• BO3 - Owen Plaisier improvement reporting
• BO3 - Naomi Walker information exchange
• BO3 - Irini Nikolaou verification activity data
• BO3 - Annette Prendergast review of Verified Allocation Data
• BO3 - Iris Steinigk transfer-of CO2
• BO3 - Lisa Buchner RED biomass

Breakout session IV: aviation

• BO4 - Liebert and Cano Aviation
• BO4 - Astorino EU ETS support facility

Afternoon plenary presentations on IT

• Plenary - Eva Felber DECLARE ETS MRV
• Plenary - Example DECLARE AER Submission
• Plenary - Antonio Astorino EU ETS Report Facility

Reports on breakout sessions

• Rapporteur BO1
• Rapporteur BO2
• Rapporteur BO3
• TF MR_2018

Location