Skip to main content
European Commission logo
Climate Action
Partner meetings

8th EU ETS Compliance Conference

  • emission trading
  • -

Practical information

When
-
Languages
English

Description

med234058web.jpg
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

Day 1 Presentations

Morning plenary presentations

Breakout session I: Inspection and enforcement

Breakout session II: Opportunities to facilitate reporting

Afternoon plenary presentations

Day 2 Presentations

Morning plenary presentations

Breakout session III: practical issues implementation MRVA phase IV

Breakout session IV: aviation

Afternoon plenary presentations on IT

Reports on breakout sessions

Location