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Climate Action
News article17 October 2012Directorate-General for Climate Action

Climate Change Committee approves national limits on non-ETS emissions for 2013-2020

The EU Climate Change Committee today approved annual limits for 2013-2020 on Member States' emissions of greenhouse gas emissions from sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

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The EU Climate Change Committee today approved annual limits for 2013-2020 on Member States' emissions of greenhouse gas emissions from sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

The draft Decision lays down so-called annual emission allocations (AEAs), in tonnes, for each Member State and year from 2013 to 2020.

It translates the 2009 Effort Sharing Decision, which addresses emissions from sectors not included in the EU ETS, into absolute annual emission figures. The Effort Sharing Decision sets binding national emission reduction or limitation targets for 2020, expressed as percentage changes from 2005 levels, and also sets out how the AEAs are to be calculated.

The sectors covered by the Effort Sharing Decision include transport (except aviation), buildings, agriculture and waste. Emissions from forestry are not included, however.

The draft Decision also fixes AEAs for Croatia, which is expected to join the European Union on 1 July 2013.

The Climate Change Committee comprises representatives from all Member States and the European Commission.

The draft Decision represents an important element in the implementation of the 2009 EU climate and energy package of legislation. The European Parliament and Council now have three months to scrutinise the text, after which the Commission will adopt it.

Technical background

The AEAs are expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent.

The emissions data used for determining the AEAs were agreed with Member States after extensive technical consultations.

The AEAs were calculated by subtracting verified EU ETS emissions from Member States' total emissions as reported in their greenhouse gas inventories. Inventories for the reference years (2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010) were reviewed earlier this year by a team of experts contracted by the Commission and co-ordinated by a review secretariat at the European Environment Agency.

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Details

Publication date
17 October 2012
Author
Directorate-General for Climate Action