A training seminar on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport was held by EA on 2 and 3 February 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.
EU strategy and regulations
The Commission’s 2011 White Paper on Transport suggests that the EU’s CO2 emissions from maritime transport should be cut by at least 40% from 2005 levels by 2050. Since international shipping is not covered by the EU’s current emissions reduction targets, the Commission set out in 2013 a strategy for progressively integrating maritime emissions into the EU’s policy for reducing its domestic greenhouse gas emissions. The first step of this strategy consists in monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from large ships using EU ports.
The MRV shipping Regulation (EU) 2015/757 adopted in April 2015 creates an EU-wide legal framework for the monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions and other relevant information from maritime transport. It requires large ships (over 5 000 gross tonnes), irrespective of where the ship or the company is registered, calling at EEA ports from 1 January 2018 to monitor their CO2 emissions emitted on journeys to, from and between EEA ports of calls, and also when in EEA ports of call.
Companies having assumed the MRV responsibility for ships visiting EEA ports will have to:
– By 30 August 2017, submit to an accredited MRV shipping verifier a Monitoring Plan, consisting of complete and transparent documentation of the monitoring method and procedures to be applied for each of the ships under its responsibilities;
– From 1 January 2018, monitor and report to an accredited MRV shipping verifier, data on each ship’s CO2, fuel consumption and other parameters, such as distance, time at sea and cargo carried, so as to determine the ship’s average energy efficiency;
– From 2019, by 30 April of each year, submit electronically to the European Commission (EC) satisfactorily verified emissions report for each of the ships concerned;
– From 2019, by 30 June of each year, ensure that all ships having performed activities in the precedent reporting period and visiting EU ports, carry on board a document of compliance issued by an accredited MRV shipping verifier. This might be subject to inspections by Member States’ authorities.
To complete the MRV shipping legal framework, the EC adopted in September 2016 two Delegated Regulations that aim at helping companies to fulfil their monitoring and reporting obligations in a harmonised way, and further specify rules for verification activities and methods for accreditation of MRV shipping verifiers. Two Implementing Regulations were also adopted by the EC and entered into force in November 2016, notably setting templates for monitoring plans, emissions reports and documents of compliance pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/757. For further information, please consult the dedicated EC webpage.
Expert consultation
As part of the preparation for the MRV shipping Delegated and Implementing Regulations, an experts’ consultation process took place from July 2015 to May 2016, under the umbrella of the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF), within two ad hoc subgroups:
– subgroup on monitoring of cargo and monitoring methods and rules;
– subgroup on verification rules and accreditation of verifiers, to which Niels-Christian Dalstrup from the Danish national accreditation body (DANAK) has been greatly contributing.
These two MRV shipping experts’ subgroups provided recommendations to the EC on the delegated and implementing acts which were endorsed by the ESSF Plenary in June 2016. They have been developing further guidance on a number of monitoring, reporting and verification aspects.
EA training seminar
The training covered both the above-recalled background for the EC Regulations on EU MRV shipping and more specific issues as published in September 2016 in the EC Delegated Regulation 2016/2072 on the verification activities and accreditation of verifiers pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/757.
The training gathered about 35 participants, among whom experts from the EC, verifiers, Classification Society and EA national accreditation bodies (NABs). Technical issues related to assessment of monitoring plans and verification of emissions reports – e.g. types of vessel, types of fuels, fueling systems, factor affecting fuel consumption – were presented and finally explained through a visit to a ship.
Accreditation issues were also presented, discussed and experiences shared, based on the Delegated Regulation 2016/2072 and the relevant issues from the work in the ESSF subgroup on verification and accreditation – e.g. the role of NABs and verifiers in the MRV, how accreditation can be granted to verifiers in time during the initial phase, and how verifiers and companies should deal with the situation in which accreditation is suspended or withdrawn close to the planned issuing date of the Document of Compliance (DOC) by the verifier.
mrv-training-february-2017
EA NABs accrediting verification bodies
Here is the list of those national accreditation bodies that provide the service for accreditation of verification bodies for assessment of monitoring plans and verification of emissions reports according to Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2072.