Collection of data on carbon dioxide emissions from shipping to be harmonised
The European Commission has submitted a proposal for a Regulation that will harmonise the EU’s collection of data on carbon dioxide emissions from shipping with the global system. The Government submitted its communication concerning the Regulation to Parliament on 21 February 2019, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finaland.
The proposal concerns amendments to the so called MRV Regulation, the EU Regulation on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport. The Regulation proposed by the European Commission on 4 February 2019 is aimed at harmonising the current EU Regulation with the International Maritime Organisation IMO’s new data collection system for ship fuel oil consumption data. The harmonisation will reduce the administrative burden of shipping companies and the costs resulting from two systems. The Regulation is applied to ships with a gross tonnage of at least 5 000 GT that carry cargo. It affects about 60 ships sailing under the Finnish flag.
The MRV Regulation enables data to be collected on carbon dioxide emissions of all ships calling at the ports of the European Economic Area. The intention is to keep the EU MRV Regulation in its current form to the extent that emission data on individual ships can be verified and published also in the future.
With the help of uniform monitoring and reporting, it is possible to obtain data on the emissions from shipping globally. This data is needed when measures are planned for reducing the emissions. The proportion of emissions from international shipping in the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions is estimated at between 2 and 3 per cent, which is more than the emissions of any individual EU member state. According to the European Commission, carbon dioxide emissions from shipping in the EU must be reduced by 40 per cent from the level of 2005 by 2050.
The government communication will next be discussed by Parliament. The handling of the MRV Regulation will begin in a working party of the Council of the European Union in February or March 2019.
