To influence the European Parliament and Commission in relation to the importance of the spatial dimension in the monitoring and report of greenhouse gas emissions and the creation of projections and Low-Carbon Development Plans.
Low carbon development strategies or plans to be developed by the Member States are required by the European Parliament report to be consistent with a cost-efficient trajectory towards the long-term climate target, which is the CoR’s position.
Moreover, the EP has stressed that it is necessary to avoid further adding to the financial and administrative burden, which also correspond to the CoR recommendations.
Importantly, in relation to several previous CoR opinions, the EP has suggested that space-based data should be considered as key monitoring tools. To that end, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme and other satellite systems should be used to the maximum extent to provide timely emission reporting (global daily measurement of CO2 and CH4 man-made and rural emissions as well as of CO2 sinks) and independent verifications of the calculated emission reports.
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- welcomes the Commission's attempts to streamline and simplify greenhouse gas monitoring and reporting requirements but requests amendments to the Commission's proposal to provide a spatial/regional context for greenhouse gas emissions and projections and low carbon development plans (PLCDs);
- requests that all the data/methodologies used be publicly available and not privately owned, that they be transparent and therefore replicable, and set by a body such as the EEA to avoid problems of multiplicity and to facilitate policy in a multi-level governance policy setting;
- calls for the spatial impact on emissions to be a material consideration in the wider policies, programmes, funding allocations and projects of the Commission;
- refers the Commission to the initiatives of the Covenant of Mayors, ClimAct Regions, carbonn and the EUCO2 80/50 as examples of international excellence of work undertaken at a regional level to reduce CO2 emissions;
- recommends harmonising the projections of Member States to provide a set of consistent projections, including reporting on the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency;
- reiterates its call at COP 17 in Durban, as well as at previous UNFCCC conferences, for the recognition of climate mitigation and adaptation actions at the local and regional level.