EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 15.12.2015

COM(2015) 650 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION

Report on the additional period for fulfilling commitments under the Kyoto Protocol
(required under Article 22 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change and repealing Decision No 280/2004/EC and Decision 13/CMP.1 of the Conference of the Parties serving as the
meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol)

{SWD(2015) 288 final}

Report on the additional period for fulfilling commitments under the Kyoto Protocol

This Report and the accompanying Staff Working Documents constitute the Union report on the additional period for fulfilling commitments under Article 3(1), of the Kyoto Protocol for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, as required under Article 22 of Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 1 , in accordance with Decision 13/CMP.1 of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. They will be transmitted to the UNFCCC.

The information contained in the report will facilitate the assessment of compliance of the Union with its commitments under Article 3(1) of the Kyoto Protocol for the first commitment period. This assessment will be based on the comparison of the quantity of units valid for the first commitment period retired by the end of the additional period for fulfilling commitments with the aggregate emissions for the first commitment period.

Retirement of Kyoto Units

The Kyoto Protocol was ratified by the European Union, at that time the European Community, and its Member States on 31 May 2002. The EU and its Member States fulfil their commitments under Article 3(1) of the Protocol jointly, in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 thereof. At the time of ratification, the following 15 countries were Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. These were also the 15 Member States when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in December 1997. In accordance with Article 4(4) of the Kyoto Protocol, the accession of 13 Member States after the adoption of the Protocol does not affect the commitments under the first commitment period.

The quantity of units retired for the EU is calculated as the sum of the quantity of units in the 15 Member States retirement accounts in their registries. The total quantity of units retired for the EU at the end of the additional period for fulfilling commitments under Article 3(1) for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol amounts to 18,843,518,768. The table below shows the specific information for each of the 15 Member States.

Carry-over of Kyoto Units

The total quantity of assigned amount units in the EU Registry holding accounts requested to be carried over by the EU from the first to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol amounts to 2,124,109,368.

The total quantity of units in the Member States holding accounts requested to be carried over by the Member States will be reported in the Member States' reports on the additional period for fulfilling commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

(1)

 Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and for reporting other information at national and Union level relevant to climate change and repealing Decision No 280/2004/EC, OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 13–40.