Background Information

Based on the 3^rd IMO GHG study, the maritime transport emits annually around 1,000 million tonnes of CO2 and is responsible for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  Emissions from maritime transport are predicted to increase between 50% and 250% by 2050, depending on future economic and energy developments.  This is not inline with the internationally agreed goal of keeping global temperature increase below 2 °C.

In June 2013 the European Union (EU) revised its strategy and included the maritime transport into the EU’s policy for reducing domestic GHG emissions.

The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have adopted on 1 July 2015 Regulation (EU) 2015/757 on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC  (known as the EU-MRV Regulation).

It requires per-voyage monitoring of CO2 emissions, as well as other parameters, including quantities of cargo carried and distance traveled.  In addition, the EU-MRV Regulation requires the annual disclosure of aggregated data on a ship basis.

Applicability

The EU-MRV Regulation applies to commercial voyages only, which means any ship that calls at an EU port to:

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• load/unload cargo; or
• embark/disembark passengers.

Voyages within the EU and associated with bunkering, relieving crew, supply stops, dry-docking, maintenance, safe harbour, etc., are excluded from monitoring and reporting requirements.

The EU-MRV Regulation does not apply to warships, naval auxiliaries, fish-catching or fish-processing ships, wooden ships of a primitive build, ships not propelled by mechanical means, or government ships used for non-commercial purposes.

Timeframes