The European Union ("EU") is coming closer to adopting mandatory rules for companies that use carbon credits.
- First, the European Parliament and Council are considering for adoption a Commission for a Regulation on a Carbon Removal Certification Framework ("CRCF Regulation Proposal").
- Second, the European Commission ("Commission") is in the process of adopting standards (the so-called "ESRS") for the EU's mandatory ESG reporting regime—the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD")—that will also cover disclosures on companies' use of carbon credits (including as emission offsets) and their quality.
These two regulatory initiatives are closely tied to each other. In effect, the draft ESRS that the Commission is considering for adoption require subject entities to disclose GHG removals and GHG mitigation projects financed through carbon credits.
The EU's aim of regulating carbon credits coincides with its push for carbon neutrality by 2050, and a related significant proliferation of companies publicly committing to achieve "net-zero" emissions by mid-century, which has triggered an uptick in strategic purchases of carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market ("VCM").The CRCF Regulation Proposal and the upcoming ESRS will help to expand sustainable and verified carbon removals and encourage investment in technological innovation.
Companies turning to the VCM to reach their net zero goals, and others active in the generation, trading, and use of carbon credits, will want to follow these initiatives closely. Opportunities remain for companies to express views that may shape the final contours of these regulations.
We discuss these developments and opportunities for public comment below.
Regulation for a Carbon Removal Certification Framework
The European Parliament and Council are currently considering for adoption the CRCF Regulation Proposal that the Commission presented in late November 2022.建议书载有规则监测、报告并验证欧盟/EEA内部发生的碳清除的真实性实际中,拟议方案仅用于EU/EEA中的碳清除。
CCRC规程基于四大质量标准(载运QU.A.L.ITYmniker):- 设置量化、额外性和长期存储需求,产品必须符合这些需求才能认证;
- 要求认证方法符合这些需求并授权委员会制定方法学and
- requires companies to subject their certification to independent third-party verification through a certification scheme.
- First, companies must disclose GHG removals and storage from their own operations and their upstream and downstream value chain, and report the underlying calculation assumptions and methodologies!and
- Second, and most important for carbon credits and the VCM, companies must disclose the amount of GHG emission reductions or removals (in metric tonnes of CO2eq) from climate change mitigation projects that financed through any purchase of carbon credits.
- Companies relying on carbon credits for achieving any net-zero targets explain the credibility and integrity of the carbon credits used, and whether and how its claims of GHG neutrality neither impede nor reduce the achievement of its GHG emission reduction targets;
- Companies consider recognized quality standards for preparing information on carbon credits, verifiable by independent third parties, to make public reports, and to provide rules for calculation, monitoring, and verification of the project's GHG emissions;
- Companies disclose information on carbon credits with a breakdown of the following items (see AG 66 for the tabular format in which companies are suggested to present information on carbon credits):
- the share (percentage volume) of reduction projects and removal projects;
- the share (percentage volume) of each recognized quality standard;
- the share (percentage volume) issued from projects in the EU!
-
- >
- 和
- >/carbon清除不影响温室气体排减量努力(ESRSE1建议约90-95%温室气体排减量应来自公司自身的企业排减量)。
The draft ESRS E-1 does not reference the CRCF Regulation Proposal, but it requires companies to "apply consensus methods on accounting for GHG removals as soon as they are available." This fits with the Commission's purpose for the regulation of the certification of carbon removals—namely to increase transparency, credibility, and integrity around companies' actions to permanently remove GHG from the atmosphere.
Next Steps
The Commission is set to adopt the draft ESRS as delegated acts by mid-2023. On November 23, 2022, EFRAG sent its draft ESRS to the Commission. Once adopted, the European Parliament and Council have two months to present any objections.之后ESRS将成为强制标准,公司必须报告各种ESG影响(见
委员会拟议的CRCF监管建议草案目前
Thus, the CRCF Regulation Proposal would require carbon credit project developers and potential users to conduct their own assessment of the carbon removal in accordance with the "QU.A.L.ITY" principles and the methodologies prepared by the Commission and then submit that assessment for independent verification through a certification scheme.
The CRCF Regulation Proposal requires certification schemes to be recognized by the Commission. All service providers of certification schemes must submit annual records of their activities to the Commission, and communicate any attempted fraud they identify. Moreover, certification schemes may only use accredited third-party certification bodies to verify project developers' and users' carbon removal assessments. These certification bodies may only be accredited by national accreditation bodies in the EU Member States. Hence, the CRCF Regulation Proposal creates a system of accreditation similar to that of notified bodies under the EU product rules.
At this stage, it is not yet clear how carbon offsets created through carbon removal projects applying the methodologies and certificate schemes set forth under the CRCF Regulation Proposal may serve as an alternative mechanism to meet the EU's GHG emissions reduction targets.根据欧盟委员会对CRCF监管建议的解释性备忘录,部分欧盟排放交易系统(EU-ETS)收入指向创新基金,它帮助企业投资创新清洁技术 — — 包括碳清除 。 CRCF监管建议与推向创新建议相匹配。 然而,看来CRCF监管建议下的碳清除不易交易或服务于EU-ETS下的目的。
此外,欧盟碳清除监管努力显然与全球开发相关联。值得一提的是,2023年1月会议中,国际可持续性标准委员会确认,拟议的s/www.ifrs.org/content/dam/ifrs/meetings/2023/jansb/sb/ap4-climateISSB是国际财务报告标准基金会(IFRS)二大标准设置板之一,并负责开发IFRS可持续性披露标准草案S2要求公司披露实现公司净零目标所必要的碳抵消数,包括用户理解实体拟使用抵消的可靠性和完整性所需某些因素A carbon removal activity's compliance with the CRCF Regulation Proposal (once adopted) would likely be an important marker of credibility and integrity.Interaction with the EU's Mandatory Carbon Credit Reporting Regime for Companies under CSRD
The draft ESRS standards that that the Commission is currently considering also include ESRS E1 on Climate Change ("ESRS E1"), which proposes a set of mandatory climate disclosures for many companies. The ESRS E1 contains two principal disclosure requirements for companies with respect to their GHG removals and GHG mitigation projects that are financed through carbon credits:
In addition, the ESRS E1 also requires that:
This post outlines the specific removability and replaceability requirements that the SBR will impose on portable batteries and light means of transport ("LMT") batteries (e.g., batteries for electric bicycles) marketed in the EU/EEA as of around September/October 2026. The new requirements will oblige producers of appliances to introduce design changes to their appliances and the batteries they incorporate. Moreover, clarifying the details of such requirements is likely to create much controversy and debate among the European Commission, Member States and other stakeholders within the next two years. In effect, the SBR leaves it to the Commission to adopt guidelines interpreting the different removability and replaceability requirements.
The post also briefly mentions the political compromise that the European Parliament and Council reached on the removability and replaceability of electrical vehicle batteries and "starting, lighting and ignition" ("SLI") batteries, and its emphasis on ensuring that such batteries be removable and replaceable by "independent professionals" (and not just authorized dealers).
Removability and Replaceability Requirements for Portable Batteries and LMT Batteries
While we expect that the EU legal linguistic experts will have to introduce some edits, Article 11 of the SBR imposes different removability and replaceability requirements for portable batteries than for LMT batteries.In turn, it would exempt from the removability and replaceability requirements portable batteries where continuity of power supply is necessary and a permanent connection between the device and the portable battery is required to ensure the safety of the user and the appliance, or for products that collect and supply data as their main function, if this is necessary for "data integrity reasons."
Portable Batteries
The SBR defines portable batteries as any battery that is sealed, weighs below or equal to 5 kg, is not designed specifically for industrial uses, and is not an electric vehicle, LMT or SLI battery. As from 42 months after the entry into force of the SBR, producers marketing devices incorporating such portable batteries must ensure that the batteries are "readily removable and replaceable" by the "end user" at any time during the lifetime of the device. Thus, the general rule for portable batteries is that it must be possible for the end user, and not a qualified professional, to remove and replace the batteries "at any time during the lifetime of the product." This wording also suggests that the Commission and Member States could take the position that portable batteries should be removable from appliances and replaceable "at any time" even if the appliance has a shorter life than that of the batteries.
Article 11(1) of the SBR also clarifies that a portable battery is "readily removable" by an end user, if it can be removed "with the use of commercially available tools" without requiring the use of: "specialized tools" unless they are provided free of charge with the product, "proprietary tools," "thermal energy" or "solvents." A recital of the SBR also explains that "commercially available tools are tools available on the market to all end users without the need for them to provide evidence of proprietary rights and that can be used with no restriction, except for health and safety reasons."
Producers marketing electronic devices incorporating portable batteries will also be required to ensure that their devices are accompanied by instructions and safety information on the use, removal and replacement of the batteries. The instructions and safety information must be posted online in a publicly available website in a manner that is easily understandable for end users.
Article 11 establishes two exceptions to the general rule that portable batteries must be removable and replaceable by end users. Devices incorporating portable batteries may be designed in such way as to make their batteries removable and replaceable only by "independent professionals" if they are:
1.万博体育app手机登录specifically designed to operate primarily in an environment that is regularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion and that are intended to be washable or rinseable.
Article 11(2) adds that this derogation is only applicable where removability and replaceability by an independent professional is necessary to ensure the safety of the user and the appliance. A recital of the SBR further tightens the derogation, stating that it "should only apply when it is not possible, by way of redesign of the appliance, to ensure the safety of the end user and the safe continued use of the appliance after the end user has correctly followed the instructions to remove and replace the battery" (emphasis added). Arguably, the Commission will have to refer to socio-economic and technical feasibility considerations when adopting guidance defining the scope of what is "not possible."
The same recital also suggests that a device is designed to "operate primarily" in a water environment if it is "specifically designed to be used, for a majority of the active service of the appliance" in a water environment.
2.professional medical imaging and radioactive devices.
Article 11 also empowers the European Commission to introduce additional derogations for other types of devices whose portable batteries may only be removable and replaceable by independent professionals, instead of end users. However, the Commission may do so only if the additional derogation is necessary to take into account technical and market developments and there are scientifically grounded concerns over the safety of end users removing or replacing the portable batteries, or such removability or replaceability by end users risks being in violation of other EU product safety rules.
The SBR does not define "independent professionals." However, such category of professionals also includes those that are not dealers authorized by the manufacturers of the devices. The Commission's guidelines may have to provide criteria on the qualifications that such professionals must meet in order to ensure the safety of end users and the devices.
LMT Batteries
The SBR defines LMT batteries as those that are sealed and weigh below or equal to 25 kg, are designed to provide electric power for the traction to wheeled vehicles that can be powered by an electric motor alone or by combination of motor and human power, including type-approved vehicles of category L under Regulation 168/2013, and are not electric vehicle batteries (e.g., batteries for electric bicycles). As from 42 months from the entry into force of the Regulation, producers marketing devices incorporating LMT batteries in the EU/EEA must ensure that the batteries are readily removable and replaceable "at any time during the lifetime" of the device.
However, in contrast with the requirements for portable batteries, the LMT must be removable and replaceable by "independent professionals," and not end users. Moreover, in the case of LMT batteries, the removability and replaceability requirements also apply to the battery cells included in the battery pack.
Replaceability Requirements
At the last moment of the EU's legislative negotiations, the European Parliament and Council introduced a confusing second subparagraph to Article 11(5) that seems intended to define the "replaceability" requirements for both portable batteries and LMT batteries. This is despite the fact that the first subparagraph of Article 11(5) regulates the removability and replaceability of only LMT by professional users.
In particular, as currently drafted, the second subparagraph of Article 11(5) states that a portable and LMT battery is "readily replaceable" if after its removal from an appliance or light means of transport, "it can be substituted by a similar battery, without affecting the functioning or the performance or safety of that appliance or light mean of transport." While unclear, the Commission and Member State authorities could take the view that the obligation to ensure that the battery can be substituted by a "similar" battery, "without affecting the functioning or the performance of the appliance or light mean of transport" also applies when an end user, and not only an independent professional, removes and replaces the portable battery from the device.This view could be supported by the fact that the subparagraph also contains a requirement on producers to ensure that portable and LMT "batteries be available as spare parts of the equipment they power for a minimum of five years after placing the last unit of the model on the market, with a reasonable and non-discriminatory price for independent professionals and end users" (emphasis added).
The guidelines that the Commission is expected to adopt, will also have to clarify this second subparagraph of Article 11(5). Among other things, we anticipate that the guidelines will have to take into account the Sale of Goods Directive when interpreting the subarapgraph's removability requirements. In any event, the use of the term "similar" suggests that producers must ensure that portable and LMT batteries in appliances can be replaced by batteries that are not identical, and therefore arguably can also be competing batteries, as long as they do not affect the performance or safety of the appliance.
It is also possible that this subparagraph to Article 11(5) may be slightly edited (e.g., it may be converted into a separate paragraph) before the SBR is published.
Removability and Replaceability Requirements for Electric Vehicle Batteries and SLI Batteries
In the end, the European Parliament and Council decided to drop the specific removability and replaceability requirements for automotive batteries, industrial batteries and electric vehicle batteries that the European Parliament had proposed. Instead, a recital to the SBR states that "SLI batteries and electric vehicle batteries incorporated in motor vehicles should be removable and replaceable by independent operators." The same recital adds that for the purpose of the design, manufacturing and the repair of SLI batteries and electric vehicle batteries, "manufacturers should provide the relevant vehicle on-board diagnostic information and vehicle repair and maintenance information on a non-discriminatory basis to any interested manufacturer, installer or repairer of equipment for [category M, N, and O] vehicles." The SBR defines a SLI battery as a battery "designed to supply electric power for starter, lighting, or ignition and [that] may also be used for auxiliary or backup purposes in vehicles, other means of transport or machinery."
Thus, the recital calls for an opening up of the market of SLI and electric vehicle batteries. This is in line with the obligations that the Regulation on the Type Approval of Vehicles imposes on vehicle manufactures to provide independent operators with OBD information and vehicle repair and maintenance information. However, it is unclear how this will work in practice taking into account the warranty terms of electric vehicle manufacturers.
The recital also indicates the willingness of the Council and Parliament that a future amendment of the End of Life Vehicles Directive include provision on joining, fastening and sealing elements to ensure that the SLI batteries and electric vehicle batteries can be removed, replaced and disassembled.
Next Steps
The SBR's new removability and replaceability requirements will apply to portable and LTM batteries and devices and means of transport containing them that are marketed as of (around) the second half of 2026. Nevertheless, businesses and their trade associations should already assess the impact of the new requirements on their products and batteries. They should also try to contribute to the Commission's adopting of interpretative guidelines and the possible introduction of additional exceptions to the obligation to ensure that portable batteries be readily removable and replaceable by end users. We expect that during the next two years the Commission will hold one or more public consultations before issuing the guidelines and exceptions.
The European Commission is expected to present a Proposal for a Directive on Green Claims ("Proposed Green Claims Directive" or "the Proposal") within the next few months. Together with the Proposal for a Directive empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and better information ("Consumer Empowerment Directive Proposal"), the Proposed Green Claims Directive would contribute to the EU's green transition towards a circular, climate-neutral and clean economy by creating a common methodology for the substantiation of green claims that concern the environmental footprint of products, services and companies.It would aim to reduce greenwashing and enable consumers to take informed purchasing decisions based on reliable information about the sustainability of products and traders.
If adopted, it is likely to significantly limit the environmental claims that businesses can make in the EU/EEA. Businesses may want to consider approaching the Commission to try to influence the final legislative proposal that it is expected to present by March 2023. Once the Commission presents its legislative proposal, businesses should consider proposing amendments to the European Parliament and Council.
Harmonization of the Rules on Green Claims in the EU
Currently EU law does not explicitly regulate environmental claims.万博体育app手机登录Instead, environmental claims are subject to the general rules of Directive 2005/29 on Unfair Business-to-Consumer Practices and Directive 2006/114 on Comparative Advertising. While the Commission and Member States have issued guidance interpreting these directives and their national implementation in the context of green claims, in practice there is a wide range of variations on the requirements for and enforcement against these claims among Member States. The Proposed Green Claims Directive is expected to create a harmonized set of rules on the substantiation of voluntary green claims applicable to all companies operating in the EU/EEA.
Covered Green Claims
The Proposal is expected to define green claims subject to the new rules as "any message or representation, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation (e.g., labels, brand names, company names or product names), which states or implies that a product or trader has a positive or no impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other products or traders, respectively, or has improved their impact over time." The Proposal is not expected to apply to claims that cover aspects other than those related to the environment. For example, sustainability claims would only be covered if they refer to environmental sustainability (e.g., preventingbiodiversity loss).
The proposed rules are also only expected to cover voluntary claims made by companies in the context of business-to-consumer ("B2C") transactions. The rules would also not cover environmental mandatory labelling or disclosures under EU environmental rules.万博体育app手机登录For example, mandatory declarations under Proposal for Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, or the requirements under the EU Taxonomy Regulation or the Proposal for a Regulation Establishing a Union Regulatory Framework on the Certification of Carbon Removals) are out of scope.
General Rules on Green Claims
The Proposal is expected to impose general requirements on the environmental claims that companies can make that will mirror those of the existing Commission's guidance. In particular, it will require that companies:
- only make environmental claims that have been substantiated through an approved methodology that meets specific criteria (see below);
- do not make a positive environmental claims where a product has both a positive and negative environmental impact. Companies may communicate the positive claim only if they also communicate the negative impact in a clear and understandable way. For example, if savings in water consumption lead to a notable increase in greenhouse gas emissions or to a negative environmental impact in another stage of the life-cycle of the product (e.g., CO2 savings at the stage of manufacturing leading to a notable increase of CO2 emissions at the use phase), both facts should be disclosed together with the claim;
- make available the information on the assessment on which the environmental claim is based, including (i) information on the product or activities of the trader subject to the claim, (ii) environmental aspects, environmental impacts or environmental performance covered by the claim, (iii) the methodology used, (iv) the underlying studies or calculations used to assess, measure and monitor the environmental impacts or aspects covered by the claim, (v) a brief explanation how improvements in environmental performance are achieved, etc. Access to this information may be provided in the form of a weblink, QR code or equivalent!万博体育app手机登录and
- review the accuracy of their environmental claims (and their substantiation) at least once every five years from the date of the underlying studies or calculations. In cases where there are circumstances that may affect the accuracy of the claim (i.e., when there are updates of the scientific methodology substantiating the claim), the environmental claim should be reviewed and updated immediately.
Methodology to Substantiate Green Claims
In line with current Commission's and Member States' guidance on environmental claims, the Proposal is expected to require economic operators to duly substantiate their environmental claims on the basis of a methodology that:
- is based on widely recognized scientific evidence, state of the art technical knowledge and takes into account relevant international standards. Where there is no recognized scientific method or insufficient evidence to assess environmental impacts and aspects, claims referring to such environmental impacts would not be allowed;
- assesses the environmental impact throughout the whole life-cycle of the product;
- takes into account: the product composition!素材制作从过程和产品使用中排出耐用性、可恢复性和生命终结性;
- asesse万博体育app手机登录and
- is regularly reviewed by a third party with a view to take account of technical and scientific progress and the development of relevant international standards as well as revised where necessary to reflect such progress.
The Proposal is expected to add a lengthy list of additional requirements with which the methodologies to substantiate environmental claims must comply. This is a significant departure from the previous, lighter requirements under the Commission's and Member States' green claims guidance. In this context, the Proposal links these requirements to the existing EU Product and Organization Environmental Footprint methods ("PEF" and "OEF"). Where a company complies with the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules ("PEFCRs") for a product, the claims made on the basis of the PEFCRs are deemed compliant with the requirements of the Proposal.
Requirements Related to Comparative Environmental Claims
The Proposal is also expected to include rules on environmental comparative claims, namely, that:
- companies use the same methodology to assess the environmental impacts, aspect or performance of products or traders to which the comparison is made (e.g., where two traders make a claim on climate change, where one considered only direct impacts, whilst the other considered both their direct and indirect impacts, the results are not comparable);
- data used for the substantiation of the comparative claim must be generated or sourced in an equivalent manner to ensure their comparability (e.g., choosing indicators on the same aspects but that use a different formula for quantification makes comparisons impossible, and therefore, there is a risk of misleading consumers)!and
- the most significant stages along the value chain must be taken into account for all products and traders compared, etc.
If adopted, these requirements are likely to make environmental comparative advertising more challenging for companies. Product certification and testing is costly, and the proposed wording would in practice require companies to conduct head-to-head studies to be able to claim any comparative advantage. Broad, sector-wide claims based on publicly available studies would no longer be acceptable.
New Rules on Forward Looking Claims
The Proposal is also expected to introduce new strict rules on forward-looking claims (i.e., claims that suggest that a product, service or company will achieve specific environmental benefits by a certain future date).The Proposal is expected to require that claims related to the future environmental performance of a product, service or trader:
- be accompanied by commitments that include milestones to be achieved within clearly specified time frames (if a target set for 2030 does not include any periodic milestones, it is impossible for stakeholders, or the trader itself, to monitor whether they are on track and what are the challenges);
- indicate a baseline year for targets and the indicators reflecting performance in the baseline year and the year linked to the improvement set out in the claim (e.g., "50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2015" instead of "50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions");
- not include actions or targets already achieved, etc.
Enforcement and Access to Justice for third Parties
The proposal is expected to introduce new and reinforced rules on enforcement against companies making non-compliant environmental claims. Member States are expected to be required to carry out a compliance monitoring:
- as part of their regular checks;
- in cases where they have sufficient reason to believe that an environmental claim presents a risk of infringement of the rules, laid down in the Proposal!或
- 响应.
CompanyAfter receiving a notification for non-compliance, companies would only have 10 business days to provide an answer. Where a trader does not provide a timely or satisfactory answer, enforcement authorities must require the trader to correct the non-compliant claim or immediately stop its communication. The trader will have to implement the corrective actions within 30 business days.
The Proposal is also expected to allow third parties to submit complaints against non-compliant green claims before administrative authorities, and thereafter courts, if the third parties have sufficient interest or have the rights infringed. Such complains may lead to injunctive actions, including the immediate stop of the communication of the non-compliant claims.
Next Steps
The European Commission is expected to formally present its proposed Green Claims Directive by the end of March 2023. Once presented, the European Parliament and Council will consider the Proposal for adoption through the ordinary legislative procedure. This process will allow for the introduction of amendments and will take at least 18 months. As indicated above, industry should keep a close eye on the development of this proposal as the requirements it will impose will have a significant impact on the current practices.
为此,欧洲委员会(“委”)预计将通过详细强制性ESG披露要求,如
ESRS目前建议覆盖84个离散披露要求和1 144个定量和定性数据点。
通用标准处理关键基础概念以及报告过程和格式符合CSRD可持续性报告ESRS1定义二重重要性概念,CSRD报告关键原理之一双重相对性标准意味着公司必须报告不仅对企业ESG问题的潜在金融影响,而且对其企业对人和地球的物质影响。换句话说,公司必须报告从金融角度讲无关紧要的问题。ESRS1还澄清说,某些披露-例如温室气体排放-一直是材料。 十大主题ESRS覆盖所有ESG三大支柱如下(见>高度:自动机">
(can opt to delay until FY 2028) / 2027 (2029 if delay)
(i) ESRS!具体可持续性报告标准欧盟将为非欧盟母公司开发或三)欧盟认为等效的本地司法可持续性报告标准。
Last week the European Commission published its long-awaited proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation ("Proposed Packaging Regulation" or "proposed Regulation"), and a Plastics Communication on an "EU Policy Framework on Biobased, Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics" ("Plastics Communication"). The Proposed Packaging Regulation is intended to replace the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62 ("Packaging Directive") and to ensure that all packaging marketed in the EU/EEA is fully recyclable or reusable by 2030.拟议的打包规则如获通过,新要求和限制将对行业、经销商和消费者产生重大影响。欧洲议会和理事会现在必须通过所谓的“正常立法程序”审议拟议条例供通过,该程序允许提出修正并可能至少需要18个月
博客文章突出拟议打包规范将介绍的主要修改和新要求并概述委员会塑料通信的主要建议。
spanid="More8321+++/span优先重要修改是欧盟包装和包装废物法将采取规范形式而非指令形式。这与拟议条例第4条协调条款和将某些包装项目列入第3条定义一起,意在限制成员国对包装附加要求的尝试。禁止某些打包格式. 拟议条例还提议禁止单用打包格式,包括单用复合打包菜菜单用打包单用塑料分组打包单用宾馆微型打包单用塑料和复合盘盒和盒装HORECA区食品和饮料Compostability Requirements. The proposed Regulation would also require that particular categories of packaging (e.g., sticky labels attached to fruits and vegetables, very lightweight plastic carrier bags, and tea and coffee bags and single-serve units intended to be used and disposed of with the product) be "compostable in industrially controlled conditions in bio-waste treatment facilities." The proposed Regulation does not itself define the criteria that these types of packaging must meet to be compostable. However, its Impact Assessment states that companies may demonstrate the compostability of their packaging on the basis of existing EU harmonized standards, such as, e.g., Standard EN 13432:2000.European authorities are also likely to take into account the compostability criteria for plastics of the Plastics Communication (see below).The Proposed Packaging Regulation would also empower the Commission to subject other packaging items to the obligation to be compostable through delegated acts if justified and appropriate due to technological and regulatory developments impacting the disposal of compostable packaging and if the packaging meets the criteria of Annex III.
Other types of packaging that are not subject to the compostability obligation mentioned above would have to be designed in a way that they can be recycled without affecting other waste streams (such as the bio-waste waste streams).与原版建议相反,拟议打包规范似乎没有全面禁止可编译塑料聚合物。
Furthermore, all reusable packaging would be required to display a label on the reusability of the packaging and a QR code or another digital data carrier with additional reusability information.
Communication on a "EU Policy Framework on Biobased, Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics"
The Plastics Communication seeks to bring clarity on the different concepts of bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics, and complements the provisions of the Proposed Packaging Regulation, especially on compostability.EU Member State authorities and courts are likely to use the Plastics Communication's criteria to assess a company's claims on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics.
- The Plastics Communication defines biobased plastics as those made from biomass, instead of fossil resources. The claim "biobased" should only be used where the exact and measurable share of biobased plastic content in the product is specified, in order for consumers to know how much biomass has actually been used in the product. The Plastics Communication adds that the biomass used must be sustainably sourced, with no harm to the environment.
- Biodegradable plastics are defined as plastics that are "designed to decompose at the end of their life by the conversion of all their organic constituents (polymers and organic additives) mainly into carbon dioxide and water, new microbial biomass, mineral salts and, in the absence of oxygen, methane." The Plastics Communication clarifies that to biodegrade, plastics need a suitable environment and specific time. The Plastics Communication states that, when using such products, it should be made clear that they should not be littered, they should mention how long the product needs to fully biodegrade, and under which circumstances and environment (e.g., soil, water).
- The Plastics Communication defines compostable plastics as "a subset of biodegradable plastics designed to biodegrade under controlled conditions, typically through industrial composting in special facilities for composting or anaerobic digestion." For this type of plastic, the Plastics Communication states that only industrially compostable plastics, which comply with relevant standards, should be labelled as "compostable." Moreover, industrially compostable packaging should display how the waste item should be disposed of through the use of a pictogram.塑料通信还解释称,家用塑料堆肥应在当局监督下根据特定本地条件加以考虑,条件是使用这些塑料有明显的附加值。
Ass
The Regulation's market intervention is exceptional (albeit in response to an extraordinary geopolitical market disruption). It will have widespread positive and negative impacts for energy market sellers and buyers. These circumstances may provoke a range of disputes, transaction (re)structurings or additional compliance obligations that will require expert advice and understanding of the details of the Regulation.
Reduction in electricity consumption
EU Member States will endeavour to reach an overall 10% reduction in electricity consumption by all consumers. The benchmark against which that reduction will be measured is the average of gross electricity consumption in the corresponding months of the reference period, i.e.11月1日至前5年3月31日,自2017年开始此外,为降低零售价并增强供应安全,成员国有义务在峰值时将电耗减少5%(定义为日头批发电价预期最高日间时数!总电耗预期最高或可再生能源以外的源电总耗量预期最高)。自2022年12月1日至2023年3月31日适用这些措施。
参数中包括防止违反欧盟绿色目标的保障措施成员国只能为未按预期耗电提供经济补偿市场运营商除收入外所支付的财政补偿金额必须通过竞争过程确定。 非加气/硬煤电厂剩余收入Cap
确定这种上限水平,以免转移可再生能源投资是一项复杂工作。高压电价高于过去十年平均批发电价和当前能源平化成本相关发电技术。
UnlikeIberian半岛 < ahrfs='chrome-extension/feaidnbnibcpclefmkaj/https/ec.eu/competice/state_aid/cass1/20225/SA_102454_407781-00-C327-A344-3EC9A772C4AF_72_1.pdf>成员国必须使用封顶剩余收入支持终端电客。剩余拥塞收入来自跨区容量分配,由传输系统操作符累积正常市场环境下,相关TEO可自由决定是否使用欧盟 The Regulation also contains a provision to redistribute the surplus revenues between net importing and exporting countries, to ensure that all Member States have the resources needed to support their final customers. Retail price regulation of electricity The Regulation allows SMEs to benefit temporarily from State intervention in setting the retail electricity price. This provision foresees the possibility that the end price could even be set below cost, provided that such an intervention does not distort demand reduction and that suppliers are both compensated and not discriminated against. Since State intervention in electricity pricing is generally considered to create market distortions, it is normally only permitted in specific and limited circumstances – as set out in the Electricity Directive – through the entrustment of a Public Service Obligation (PSO).委判定当前状况满足这些条件,因此监管授权偏离欧盟 /p>理事会授权将这笔捐款的收益用于向最终能源客户提供财政支持-特别侧重于脆弱家庭和能源密集产业(后者必须使用支持投资于可再生能源、能效或其他去碳化技术)。 Covington将继续监控并更新当前危机背景下欧盟法律的最新动态。
The European Parliament and Council are in the last stages of the legislative procedure to adopt a Regulation on Batteries and Waste Batteries ("Sustainable Batteries Regulation"), which the European Commission proposed in December 2020. Among other many requirements, the proposed Sustainable Batteries Regulation will require manufacturers to ensure that the portable batteries contained in their electronic devices are removable and replaceable. These requirements will apply to a large variety of electronic devices, including household appliances, IT, telecommunications equipment, and medical devices. They are part of a broader sustainable products package that includes other legislative proposals, such as the Commission proposal for a Regulation on Ecodesign Requirements for Sustainable Products and an upcoming legislative initiative on the right to repair, and will require manufacturers to redesign the electronic devices that they market in the European Union and European Economic Area ("EU/EEA").
The European Parliament and Council adopted their position at first reading and common approach, respectively, in March 2022, and they are now in so-called "Trilogue" negotiations to try to reach an agreement on the final wording of the Regulation. They expect to hold their third Trilogue meeting in early October and to adopt the Regulation by the end of the year. The removability and replaceability requirements on portable batteries are likely to apply as of early 2025.
Below we outline the Parliament's and Council's main positions on the replaceability and removability requirements as well as those aspects for which they have already reached a provisional agreement.
The Removability and Reparability Requirements
The draft used in preparation of the second Trilogue meeting of June 30 ("Second Trilogue Draft") indicates that the EU institutions agree that as "[f]rom 24 months after the entry into force of the [Sustainable Batteries Regulation] any natural or legal person that places on the market products with portable batteries […] incorporated, shall ensure that those portable batteries […] are designed in such a manner to be readily and safely removable and replaceable by the end-user or by independent operators during the lifetime of the appliance […], if the batteries have a shorter lifetime than the appliance […], or at the latest at the end of the lifetime of the appliance."
The current Batteries and Waste Batteries Directive 2006/66 already requires manufacturers to "design appliances in such a way that waste batteries [..] can be readily removed." The WEEE Directive 2012/19 also requires that batteries be removed from any "separately collected [waste electrical and electronic equipment]." The Sustainable Batteries Regulation's requirements on removability and replaceability are intended to ensure the enforcement of the obligation to remove the batteries to allow their recycling and to prolong the expected lifetime of the appliances they are part of. While the Second Trilogue Draft's wording is unclear, the removability and replaceability requirements are likely to be interpreted as requiring that portable batteries be removable and replaceable if their lifetime is shorter than that of the appliances in which they are contained, and that they be removable at the end of the lifetime of the appliances. This could suggest that portable batteries do not need to be replaceable if their lifetime is the same or longer than that of the appliances in which they are contained.
The Council is proposing that a battery should be considered as "readily removable" "where it can be removed from an appliance […] without the use of specialized tools, thermal energy, or solvents to dissemble." A battery would be replaceable "where, after its removal from an appliance […] it can be substituted by a similar ["compatible" according to the Parliament] battery without affecting the functioning or the performance or safety of that appliance."
The European Parliament is also proposing prohibiting manufacturers from using software "to affect the replacement of a portable battery […] or of their key components with another compatible battery or key component."
The Parliament's proposal to ensure that portable batteries can be substituted by "compatible," rather than "similar," portable batteries is intended to ensure that batteries can be replaced by batteries that are not of the same brand or from the same manufacturer.The Parliament also proposes to require that manufacturers keep available portable batteries as spare parts of the appliances they power for a minimum of ten years after placing on the market the last unit of the same model "with a reasonable and non-discriminatory price for independent operators and end-users."
To What Batteries and Appliances Would the Requirements on Removability and Replaceability Apply?
The Second Trilogue Draft defines a portable battery as any battery that: (i) is sealed, (ii) weighs below or equal to five kilograms, (iii) is not designed specifically for industrial uses, and (iv) is neither an electric vehicle battery, nor a light means of transport battery, nor a starter, lighting or ignition power battery of a motor vehicle.万博体育app手机登录A battery is "any ready for use, source of electrical energy generated by direct conversion of chemical energy, having internal or external storage, and consisting of one or more non-rechargeable or rechargeable battery cells, modules or packs of them, including a battery that has been subject to preparing for re-use, preparing for repurpose or repurposing, or remanufacturing." It also defines an "appliance" as any "electrical and electronic equipment" that is fully or partly powered by a battery or is capable of being so."
In practice, the removability and replaceability requirements will apply to portable batteries contained in a wide variety of electrical devices, including household appliances, IT and telecommunications equipment, consumer and lighting equipment, electronic tools, toys and leisure equipment, medical devices, monitoring equipment, and automatic dispensers. However, the reference of the definition of appliance to the WEEE Directive 2012/19 suggests that the removability and replaceability requirements may not apply to all products containing batteries. For example, it is unclear whether the requirements would apply to teddy bears with an electronic function.
The Second Trilogue Draft imposes identical requirements on batteries for light means of transport (e.g., electrical bicycles), and the European Parliament is also proposing to impose similar requirements on automotive batteries, electric vehicle batteries and industrial batteries.
Who Should Be Able to Remove and Replace the Portable Batteries?
The Second Trilogue Draft indicates that the Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement in that the manufacturer of the appliances may choose between ensuring that the portable batteries be removable and replaceable by an end-user or by an independent operator. However, as with the EU rules on the type approval of vehicles (see e.g., Regulation 2018/858), the EU institutions intend to ensure that manufacturers may not limit the possibility to remove and replace the batteries to only their dealers. The Draft defines an independent operator as a "person who is independent from the manufacturer and the producer and is directly or indirectly involved in the repair, maintenance or repurposing of batteries, and include waste management operators, repairers, manufacturers or distributors of repair equipment, tools or spare parts, as well as publishers of technical information, operators offering inspection and testing services […]."
The Parliament would also require manufacturers of appliances to provide their customers at the time of purchase of the appliances and permanently online with "clear and detailed instructions for removal and replacement" of the portable batteries.
The Council also proposes that in the case of appliances "designed to operate normally in a wet environment" the portable batteries shall be removable and replaceable "only by qualified independent operators." The concept of "qualified" independent operator would have to be defined in the guidance on the removability and replaceability requirements that the Commission is mandated to adopt and/or by Member State legislation.
Possible Exemptions
The European Parliament and Council are likely to agree that the removability and replaceability requirements should not apply to portable batteries where the "continuity of power supply is necessary and a permanent connection between the [appliance] and the [respective] portable battery is required for safety, medical or data integrity reasons." The Parliament is also proposing to grant an exemption where "the functioning of the battery is only possible when the battery is integrated into the structure of the appliance and it can be proved by the manufacturer that there is no alternative available on the market." The Second Trilogue Document suggests that the Parliament and Council have provisionally agreed that the removability and replaceability requirements should only apply to battery packs as a whole and not to individual cells or other parts included in the battery pack.
Taxonomy Re-Cap
The Taxonomy Regulation establishes the EU's binary system to distinguish between economic activities that are "environmentally sustainable" and those that are not.
Together with other laws of the EU Sustainable Finance Package such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD") and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ("SFDR"), the Taxonomy Regulation is designed to channel capital investments to sustainable economic activities.To this end, the Taxonomy Regulation provides criteria to allow companies and financial market participants to label specific economic activities and related investments as "environmentally sustainable," and EU rules require a growing number of companies and investors to report on the degree to which their economic activities and investments comply with the Taxonomy Regulation.
To be environmentally sustainable for purposes of the Taxonomy Regulation, an economic activity must fulfill the following four cumulative requirements:
- Substantially contribute to one of six environmental objectives (e.g., climate change mitigation, transition to a circular economy);
- Not significantly harm any of the other environmental objectives (e.g., by harming pollution prevention and control due to "a significant increase in the emissions of pollutants" or by harming protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems due to its significant detrimental effects on the good condition and resilience of ecosystems).
- Be carried out in compliance with minimum safeguards, which are essentially the core human rights and labor obligations of the OECD, UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights, the International Labor Organization, and those enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights!和
- 兼容技术筛选标准>
技术筛选标准至关重要They set out the specific conditions that a particular economic activity (e.g., electricity generation from natural gas or construction of a nuclear power plant) must meet in order to be deemed environmentally sustainable for purposes of the Taxonomy Regulation.
The European Commission Is the Key Taxonomy Gatekeeper
Under the Taxonomy Regulation, the EU Member States and the European Parliament have delegated the authority to adopt the technical screening criteria to the European Commission, but Member States and Parliament retain the right to scrutinize and object to them.
The Commission has already successfully adopted Commission Delegated Regulation 2021/2139 (the so-called "Climate Delegated Act"), which sets out the technical screening criteria for dozens of economic activities that are deemed to substantially contribute to climate change mitigation or adaptation (ranging from "anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge" to "transport by passenger cars").
On February 2, the Commission complemented this Climate Delegated Act with the CCDA, which will still be subject to scrutiny by Member States and the European Parliament.The CCDA specifies the screening criteria for specific nuclear and gas activities, and also amends the specific disclosure rules established in Commission Delegated Regulation 2021/2178 to allow investors and other stakeholders to distinguish Taxonomy compliant gas and nuclear activities from other Taxonomy compliant activities such as the construction of off-shore wind parks (see Annex III to CCDA).
Gas Activities: The Commission's Sustainability Criteria
The CCDA includes three natural gas activities that can be Taxonomy compliant subject to strict conditions:
- Construction or operation of electricity generation facilities that produce electricity using fossil gaseous fuels (i.e., natural gas);
- Construction, refurbishment, and operation of combined heat/cool and power generation facilities using fossil gaseous fuels! 构建、翻新和运行热生成设施,使用与高效区热冷相连接的化石气燃料产生热/cool。
三大活动技术筛选标准大致相似Taking the example of the first activity, electricity generation from natural gas, the key conditions are as follows:
- The life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity generation must not exceed 100g CO2e/kWh (the emissions are to be calculated based on the EU's 2013 life-cycle method or applicable ISO standards).
- The life-cycle emissions must be verified by an independent third party.
- For facilities relying on a form of abatement, such as carbon capture or use of low-carbon gases, the abatement activity must itself comply with the applicable technical screening criteria in the Climate Delegated Act.
We note that the life-cycle emission target of 100g CO2e/kWh in practice means that operators seeking to comply with it must rely heavily on abatement activities, such as carbon capture technologies or the blending of fuels.依据>Central研究 绿氢与天然气混合还有可能实现这些生命周期排放目标。
The laxer emission target is:
- Direct greenhouse gas emissions are lower than 270g CO2e/kWh of the output energy, or annual direct emissions do not exceed an average of 550kg CO2e/kW of the facility's capacity over 20 years.
The additional cumulative requirements are:
- The gas power plant replaces an existing high emitting electricity generation activity that uses solid or liquid fossil fuels;
- The power to be replaced cannot be generated from renewable energy sources, based on a comparative assessment with the most cost-effective and technically feasible renewable alternative for the same capacity;
- The newly installed production capacity does not exceed the capacity of the replaced facility by more than 15%;
- The gas power plant is designed and constructed to use renewable and/or low-carbon gaseous fuels (e.g., "green" or "blue" hydrogen) and the switch to the full use of such fuels must take place by December 31, 2035.责任公司管理者必须批准并承诺对开关实施可核查计划 。
- 替换现有电源活动导致在新建燃气厂使用寿命期间温室气体排放减少至少55%
- /li/p>如果天然气电厂位于使用煤发电的欧盟成员国内,该成员国公开承诺淘汰煤发电。
- 研究、开发、演示和部署闭合燃料循环先进技术以刺激未来技术在安全标准和废物最小化方面的创新。 新核电厂发电项目构建安全运行这些项目确认至2045年(批准建筑许可日期)。此类工厂的能量可用于生成氢 (即 pinkthy)
The European Commission claims that it has relied on extensive expert advice—including from the Joint Research Centre, the Scientific and Technical Committee under Article 31 of the Euratom Treaty, and the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks ("SCHEER")—to ultimately make the controversial decision that nuclear energy that complies with the regulatory framework in the EU Member States "ensures a high level of protection for the environment and for people," and therefore, can meet the do no significant harm criteria.
To be Taxonomy compliant, these nuclear activities must meet detailed regulatory conditions that cover requirements beyond the existing EU and national law regulatory frameworks for nuclear power plants.附加条件包括操作处置设施确定日期和禁止输出放射性废物供非欧盟国家处置。
根据分类规则第23(6)条,欧洲议会和理事会有四个月时间阻塞欧盟公报发布CCDA并避免它生效四个月审查周期正式启动后,欧盟委将CCDA译为欧盟各种正式语文提交欧洲议会和理事会,并可在欧洲议会或理事会的倡议下再延长两个月。极可能持续到2022年夏末。
议会议事规则建议将翻译的CCDA提交议会经济和货币事务委员会(ECON)和环境、公共卫生和安全委员会(ENVI)。这两个机构可决定提出一项动议并附理由,要求议会反对CCDA政治集团或代表5%MEPs的集团也可以提出这样的动议阻塞CCDA的任何决议均需由欧洲议会全体会议表决,并只有在705MEPs中至少353支持才能成功。
经济和金融事务理事会配置集欧盟经济和财政部长为一体,总体负责欧盟可持续金融包件。
更多,成员国和欧洲议会也可以向欧盟总法院挑战CCDA私人方,包括非政府组织,如果能证明直接与CCDA相关,也有可能拥有向欧盟普通法院质疑CCDA的法律资格。 2023年1月1日预计CCDA生效,如果议会和理事会不反对它,欧盟法院不中止它时点,符合上述条件的核能和天然气投资将算作分类规则中的“环境可持续性”,从而打开绿化投资者和耳记公共资金的大门,用于欧盟下一代欧盟投资程序。
While the Italian Decree provides companies with additional flexibilities to market their SUPs in Italy, companies should carefully assess the risks that may arise if EU Courts finally hold that the Decree is not compatible with EU law.
The Definition of Plastic
Article 3(1)(a) of the Italian Decree follows the definition of "plastic" of the SUPD with one important difference: it explicitly excludes from the definition "materials such as paints, inks, adhesives, and plastic coatings, weighing less than 10% of the total weight of the product, which are not the main structural component of the finished products" (emphasis added).
The Italian definition also does not follow the interpretation of the SUPD's definition of plastic reflected in the European Commission's Interpretative Guidelines ("Commission Guidelines"). The Commission Guidelines confirm that Recital 11 of the SUPD excludes from the concept of "products made partly of plastic" those materials to which "paints, inks and adhesives" are applied. However, the Guidelines also make clear that materials (e.g., paper and cardboard) with plastic coatings and lining are plastic materials or materials partly made of plastic and are subject to the SUPD's requirements and restrictions. Neither the SUPD's definition of plastic nor the Commission's Guidelines provide any exemption on the basis of a weight threshold.
A Delayed Entry Into Force of the Ban on Prohibited Single-Use Plastic Products
The Italian Decree also provides for a delayed introduction of the ban on SUPs listed in Part B of the Annex to the SUPD (e.g., cotton buds, cutlery, plates, etc.).
Article 5(1) of the Italian Decree mirrors Article 5 of the SUPD and prohibits the placing on the market of the SUPs listed in Part B of the Annex to the SUPD. However, Article 5(2) of the Decree also provides that the SUPs listed in Part B of the Annex may still be made available on the Italian national market "until stocks are exhausted, provided that it can be demonstrated that they were placed on the market before the date of the entry into force of the obligation referred to in paragraph 1" (emphasis added).
Presumably, the concept of placing on the market of Article 5(2) refers to the Italian national market, and not to the EU market, in line with the SUPD. Nevertheless, Article 5(2) indicates that all SUPs listed under Part B of the Annex that were already on the Italian market by January 14, 2022, may continue to be sold through the supply chain in Italy even if the SUPD's ban applies since July 2021.
An Italian Exemption for Biodegradable and Compostable Single-Use Plastic Products
Contrary to the SUPD, Article 5(3) of the Italian Decree provides an exemption from the ban for single-use plastic products that are biodegradable or compostable and are listed in Part B of the Annex to the SUPD. In particular, it exempts from the prohibition of Article 5(1) biodegradable and compostable materials certified in accordance with technical standard UNI EN 13432 or UNI EN 14995, with a percentage of renewable raw material of at least 40% (60% from January 1, 2024), if any of the following alternative conditions are met:
- It is not possible to use reusable alternatives to SUP food contact products listed in Part B of the Annex;
- The use takes place in controlled environments, which ordinarily and constantly deliver waste to public collection services, e.g., canteens and health facilities;
- Alternatives do not provide adequate guarantee in terms of hygiene and safety due to the specific circumstances of time and place;
- If the SUP is used for particular types of food or drink;
- The particular circumstances involve a multitude of people!or
- The environmental impact of the single-use alternatives is worse than the impact of the bio-based and compostable material, based on a lifecycle analysis by the manufacturer.
Arguably, the Italian Government would be justifying the exemptions of Article 5(3) on the basis of Article 11 of the SUPD, which requires Member States to ensure that their implementation of the SUPD does not compromise food safety. However, it is questionable whether the European Commission will agree with such interpretation, in particular considering that the Commission has repeatedly said that the definition of plastic also covers "bio-based and biodegradable plastics regardless of whether they are derived from biomass or are intended to biodegrade over time."
Thus, there is a risk that the European Commission may start an infringement procedure against Italy or that the EU Courts may otherwise hold that the Italian Decree's definition of plastics and its flexible exemptions for specific SUPs are not compatible with EU law. In effect, this would also have significant commercial consequences for those companies that relied on the flexible approach of the Italian Decree.
The Return Systems for Single-Use Plastic Bottles
Finally, Article 6(5) of the Italian Decree also requires that producers and their extended producer responsibility systems ensure that the post-consumer material [waste] of beverage bottles (with a capacity of up to 3 liters, including their caps and lids) listed in Part F of the Annex to the SUPD be collected and retuned back to their original manufacturers.
In effect, the Commission's legislative Package is intended to promote the use of blue hydrogen until at least 2030 provided that it achieves the same decarbonization as green hydrogen (i.e., 70% GHG reduction). However, the European Parliament and Council may amend both the proposed definition and conditions of blue hydrogen and the proposed regulative incentives during their consideration of the Package and its adoption through the legislative procedure that will now follow. Moreover, the European Commission will be empowered to develop much of the methodologies implementing the definitions of blue and green hydrogen. Companies intending to engage in blue and green hydrogen operations in the EU/EEA would be well advised to closely follow these developments.
I. The Legislative Package on Hydrogen and Decarbonized Markets
The Package is yet another piece of the "Fit for 55" agenda to achieve the EU's climate neutrality by 2050 and includes three legislative proposals: (i) a proposal for a recast of the EU Regulation on the Internal Markets for Renewable and Natural Gases and for Hydrogen ("Proposed Gas and Hydrogen Regulation")!(二) 关于欧盟可再生能源和天然气及氢内部市场共同规则的建议(“ Both green and blue hydrogen would benefit from this proposed beneficial regulatory framework provided they comply with the proposed definitions and requirements. However, they would continue to be impacted differently under other parts of the EU's climate and energy rules, such as the Renewable Energies Directive ("RED II") and the proposal for a Regulation on a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ("Proposed CBAM Regulation") and the Regulation on the Establishment of a Framework to Facilitate Sustainable Investment ("Taxonomy Regulation"). II. Renewable and Low-Carbon Hydrogen The EU's current energy regulatory framework fails to define renewable (aka "green") and low-carbon (aka "blue") hydrogen. This legal uncertainty has hampered the role-out of green and blue hydrogen markets and infrastructure in the EU. To correct this, the Package introduces new legal definitions of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen that the Commission will be empowered to detail by adopting specific calculation methodologies and threshold determinations in delegated acts. The Proposed Gas and Hydrogen Directive includes definitions of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen that are in line with those of the proposal to amend the Renewable Energies Directive II ("Proposed Directive to Amend RED II"). 表示欧盟关于可再生(“绿化”)和低碳最大温室气体排放密度的规则大致相似,因为天然气和氢指令为两者都设置相同的去碳化效果标准(i.e. ,70%降温)。可再生和低碳氢减排阈值很可能使用“对开式”法计算,即计取勘探到生产过程的CO2排放,包括直到生产过程的运输,然而,委员会尚未确定绿色和蓝氢精确计算和测定方法(见下文)。 Thus建议可再生和低碳氢的主要差值将是氢生产过程,特别是用于制造氢的能源源(iem>e.g./em>电解器中)。In effect, the aim of this approach is to allow low-carbon hydrogen to play a role in decarbonization and facilitate the energy transition until 2030. The amended RED II would continue to promote green hydrogen, and various EU legislation, such as the Proposed CBAM Regulation, would likely impact blue and green hydrogen differently. However, both blue and green hydrogen meeting the proposed definitions would benefit from the Package's proposed dedicated hydrogen infrastructure and market outlined below at least until 2030. The expectation is that by 2030 the EU will introduce a stricter GHG reduction threshold for the definition of low-carbon ("blue") hydrogen. This threshold could be similar to that set under the draft technical screening criteria for gas investments under the Taxonomy Regulation, but that remains to be seen. III.低卡通氢元 可再生和低碳认证: Hence, if an operator provides compliance with a recognized scheme, this will serve to satisfy the certification requirement for low-carbon hydrogen. The Package applies these certification requirements equally to imported and EU-produced blue and green hydrogen, which may be related to recent efforts by certain Member States to scale up production of hydrogen both inside and outside the EU. For instance, in December 2021 the Commission approved the German State aid scheme H2Global that also supports the production of green hydrogen in non-EU countries for its export to, and sale in, the EU. IV. Regulation of Hydrogen Networks The current EU regulatory framework for gas energy carriers does not address the deployment of hydrogen as an independent energy carrier via dedicated hydrogen networks.欧盟一级没有基于收费价对氢网络投资规则(sem>/em>要求为网络运营商提供报酬以便充分投资于基础设施)或专用氢网络所有权和运营规则(sem>/em>unbunding规则)。拟议气流指令和拟议气流规范通过引入以下措施消除这些缺陷: Next Steps The European Parliament and Council must now consider the proposed Regulation and Directive for their adoption through the so-called "ordinary" legislative procedure. This procedure allows the Parliament and Council to modify the proposals, for example to include further incentives and more flexible rules for low-carbon hydrogen. The procedure is likely to be expedited so that the legislation is adopted within the next 18 months. In the meantime, the Commission is also expected to start its preparatory work on the specific methodologies needed for the certification of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen.委员会将不得不作出技术决策,这些决策往往可能产生重大商业后果。受影响的公司或愿尽早与委员会接触进程。