Transpost Malta has issued a Merchant Shipping Notice to remind all concerned of the important dates of EU MRV regulation following the amendments approved this May in order to comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2015/757 (effective from April 2015), on the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport
To remind, the EU MRV regulation was amended on 10 May 2023 in order to provide for the inclusion of maritime transport activities in the EU Emissions Trading System and for the monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions of additional greenhouse gases and emissions from additional ship types.
Key dates to keep in mind as follows:
- As from 1 January 2024, the scope of the EU MRV Regulation shall be extended to include methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
- As from 1 January 2025, general cargo ships between 400 and 5000 gross tonnage and offshore ships of 400 gross tonnage and above, shall also fall under the scope of the amended MRV Regulation.
- From 1 January 2024, shipping companies must monitor and report methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, in addition to CO2 emissions, using the THETIS MRV module.
- The revised monitoring plan shall be submitted no later than 1 April 2024, for approval, to the responsible Administering Authority after being assessed by a verifier.
- The attribution of each company to the Administering Authority of a Member State will be stated in a list published by the European Commission by 1 February 2024, and every two years thereafter.
- From 2025, by 31 March of each year, an emissions report for the previous year, for each ship, verified as satisfactory by an accredited verifier shall be submitted to the relevant Administering Authority as well as to the flag State and the European Commission.
- By the same date, for ships falling within the scope of the ETS Directive, a verified as satisfactory report at company level shall also be submitted to the relevant Administering Authority, through THETIS MRV.
The EU-ETS works on the cap-and-trade system, which is to (1) allocate allowances on the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions that can be emitted by each operator or installation (cap), and to (2) let them buy and sell their allowances in case of surplus or shortage (trade). Such operators who exceed their allocated allowances must purchase the allowances from the designated markets or other operators. As cap levels are set to be gradually stringent, the efficient emissions reduction through the market principle is expected among the participants as a whole.
