EU ETS Compliance: the Way Forward

10 - 11 September 2008 – Centre Borschette, Rue Froissart 36, Brussels, Belgium

Introduction

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), established by EU Directive 2003/87/EC, started on 1 January 2005. In order for the EU-ETS to be successful in the long term, i.e. beyond 2013, it is important to both strengthen and harmonise the compliance chain of CO₂ emissions trading. The compliance chain entails the permit application, the validation of the monitoring plan, implementation and execution of the monitoring plan, reporting of emissions in the annual emission report, verification of the emission data in the AER, inspections and if needed enforcement actions and sanctions.

This conference “EU ETS Compliance: the Way Forward” will be used as a tool to improve coherence, to harmonize the compliance chain among Member States and to open a communication channel with the policy-making process. The focus is on regional and, possibly, local levels, facilitating at the same time better participation from Competent Authorities and connecting compliance issues more directly with the policy making process.

Raising the profile of EU-ETS compliance will be fundamental in strengthening the credibility and transparency of the system. Member States and stakeholders need to trust that in the EU, a ton of CO₂ emitted is always equivalent to a ton of CO₂ monitored. This will be particularly important in linking to other non EU ET systems.

Objectives and deliverables of the Conference

The objectives of the conference are:

• To bring Competent Authorities (CAs) and policymakers together to exchange experience and best practices and to learn from each other
• To raise the profile of the compliance chain as the foundation for success in the EU-ETS.
• To create among Member States and regional CA’s an awareness of, and commitment to, the degree of harmonisation of implementation needed to safeguard the environmental integrity of the EU-ETS
• To bring together various stakeholders involved in the compliance chain, including verifiers, accreditation bodies, NGO’s and operators.

The ambition of the conference is to create the momentum for improving coherence and further harmonisation of EU-ETS compliance. Establishing the EU-ETS Compliance Forum (CF) is meant as a first step in this process. This should result in a substantial capacity building process that will ensure an overall more coherent compliance strategy at national and regional level.

The main deliverable of the Conference is a structured plan for the establishment, position, and working program of the Compliance Forum (CF)

Location

The first day of the conference is in the Albert Borschette Conference Building in Brussels and will consist primarily of expert discussion groups organized, in the form of workshops. The second day is mainly intended for political and strategic deliberation on the conclusions from day 1.

Target Audience

The conference organisation aims for an audience that includes people who have an interest in and are in a position to resolve Compliance Chain issues regarding emissions trading. The key audience consists of CAs (Competent Authorities) and policymakers (Ministries). Accreditation and verification bodies will also be represented. A number of representatives from industry and NGOs will be invited, as well as selected Commission officials.

More information:

• Agenda
• Business Case

Presentations of day 1 10 September, 2008

Workshop Session I:

(Dealing with) similarities and differences on EU ETS enforcement
Jeroen Kruijd
PwC

Swedish presentation
Fredrik Zetterlund
Climate Department

Polish presentation
Tomasz Karpiński
KASHUE - The National Administration of the Emission Trading System

German presentation
Matthias Wolf
U.B.A.

Conclusions
Fazit Harders

Conclusions
Sina Wartmann

Workshop Session II:

Introduction Workshop Session II
Chris Dekkers
Ministry VROM

XML-Interface (XETL-Language)
Dr Thomas Bigalke
Head of Section "Information Technology" IT Quality Assurance
German Emission Trading Authority at Federal Environmental Agency

Finnish approach of EU-ETS workflow automation Jarno Ilme
Head of Unit Enegry Market Authority
Tuomas Riski
Vice president, Innofactor

UK use of IT tools in the EU ETS Compliance Process
Joel Ormonde
Environment Agency for England and Wales

A story about EU ETS, other reporting requirements and SEIS
Andreas Barkman
Project mananger GHG emissions and emission trading

Identified issues, activities needed, questions for panellists Session II: Data Quality, Transparency and the Role IT in the Compliance Chain Krzysztof Olendrzyński
Institute of Environmental Protection - The National Administration of the Emissions Trading Scheme

Conclusions and Recommendations Workshop2 : Data Quality, Transparency and the Role IT in the Compliance Chain
Ken Macken
Programme Manager – Climate Change Unit

Working Session III

Verification & Accreditation

Points for Discussion at the EU ETS Compliance Conference
Lucy Landlin
Future Perfect

Third trading period after 2012
Marco Loprieno
DG ENV European Commission

Findings from Workshop Session III
Marc Allessie - moderator

Findings of the Rapporteur of Workshop Session III
Machtelt Oudenes

Continuous Improvement of the Monitoring Methodology: UK Best Practice
Rob Gemmill - Environment Agency for England & Wales

Man/days atribuition for GHG verification
João Bolina
Agencia Portuguesa Ambiente

Working Session IV:

The Registry Administrators Forum

IMPEL TFS Experiences of a European Enforcement Network
Nancy Isarin –
Impel TFS Secretariat

Strengthening the Compliance Chain – The Compliance Forum as a Way Forward
Andrew Hitchings – Emission Trading Manager
Environment Agency (England and Wales)

Activities and Organisations of the Compliance Forum
Martine Meerburg
Regulator Emission Trading

Strengthening the compliance chain
Alistair Ritchie - Martin Bigg

Presentations of day 2, 11 September, 2008

Issues and Question for Panel Discussion 1: Public Sector
Christian Egenhofer
Senior Fellow
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels

Issues and Question for Panel Discussion 2 : Private Sector
Christian Egenhofer
Senior Fellow
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels

Issues and Question for Panel Discussion 3 : International dimensions of compliance issues
Christian Egenhofer
Senior Fellow
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels

Location