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:
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。
框架报告预览,其中得出结论说,世界当前轨迹到本世纪末都面临
2.5至2.9摄氏度变暖,并伴之以国际能源机构2022年世界能源展望的新的
报告,报告总结说,从现在
到2030年,世界每年至少需要花4万亿美元解决气候变化问题。 和这个挑战性背景抗衡,COP27决非直截了当。但这些'br'difficulties加之发展中国家和发达国家对>br>优先级的划分时间划分在会议前后紧张状态中最清晰显示
加速减缓气候的承诺,响应关于地球快速变暖对
影响的可怕科学警告具体地说,呼吁逐步减少所有
fossil燃料的努力最终在峰会最终协议中败出并突出显示全球排减承诺速度与避免最具破坏性气候影响需要的
步调之差。
COP27-A recap
COP21NDC汇总后将保持世界轨迹以避免
worst气候变化影响,并每5年审查一次enview
周期作用鼠标,迫使每个国家带更多'br>雄心勃勃NCDs返回COP2020年因Covid而错过了COP26,格拉斯哥市去年COP26成为第一个五年审查点,评估通过
Paris协议后排减进度Glasgow大会因美国之故也很重要环球气候问题重新投入世界舞台, 由
政府间气候变化问题专门委员会发布的权威科学评估, 列出了smission轨迹日益可怕的冲击,清楚地表明这是世界降低排放以避免灾难性全球变暖目标的决定性十年。
承诺,去年COP的结尾令主席眼泪近增,因为NDCs综合'br>勉强保住巴黎科学目标
1.5摄氏度高于工业前水平立方公尺比1.5目标/br/Celsius目标提高十分之九对地球产生灾难性天气影响,但为更好地实现
目标而达成的关键协议证明难以实现。
UNFCCC评估说,各国在实现1.5度/br/celius目标方面没有取得足够的进展,并请求所有成员国返回COP27并改进目标COP27的Br>焦点因此放在前协议的“执行”上-由Br>会议标题Captement of“Togates for 实现”-不期望主要新Climate
变换文本会商谈近195国努力使用COP27来点火,但只有29个有改进NDCsssss.s/p>
squatedUnited United Nations/CEP27上的国家代表团外,还有近2千个官方观察组织-共约33 500名代表。 ibr>At开源开源开源开源开源开源开源开源开源开源并解决深度公平问题, 由谁来承担气候干扰和经济发展收益的冲击和负负在今年
ss观察欧洲和中国异常干旱时,承认这种不平等和附属于解决的发展中世界的
意义,除埃及作为
主机的作用外,COP27被计为“AfricanCOP”。
历史学上,全球应对气候变化可大致归为
或减排或改适应(准备未来变换
气候变换-例如加固海墙或改善对关键
国家基础设施的保护)。COP添加了另一个官方类别-“损耗和损耗”-它“br”处理气候变化影响问题,侧重于当前气候变化经济不良效应,以及一国无法通过恢复能力努力恢复
的问题。
并在未来更贵处理COP27自巴厘G20会议归来试探新生活和希望,最后48
小时关键商谈因美国实际缺席而进一步受阻气候特使John
Kerry-一位关键交易人和有经验的谈判者-他与Covid>br/帮助脆弱国家应对气候
change-和Johnkerry支持计划的最后一分钟欧盟主动表示不包含法律责任
-是解锁协议的关键小岛屿国家联盟是会谈中的谈判阵营,称基金为“全世界的胜利”。
然而,关键细节说明基金将如何运作,包括支付者、数额和操作方式,留待未来会谈解决这一点很重要,因为它可能`Br>政治挑战美国请求国会为损耗和损耗基金追加气候拨款, 并可能出现挑战性问题,并面临创纪录通胀和由
俄罗斯入侵乌克兰引发的大规模生活成本危机有关其他Br>key发射者-最突出的是中国-为这样一个基金提供捐款的作用问题仍然有待解答。
not everyones's Happy..
虽然发展中国家实现了建立损耗基金的长期目标,但
COP27未能实现迫使国家改善NDCs的目标The negotiations also
failed to secure an agreement to start a phase-out of all fossil fuels—language which at one
point had seemed to have made its way into the text, only to be withdrawn and replaced by the
Glasgow language of "phasing down" coal and "phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies" after
objections from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia.
Although an attempt to remove the 1.5 degree Celsius goal from the Declaration in favor of the
Paris Agreement's upper limit of 2 degrees failed, there was no mention of the requirement for
global emissions to peak by 2025, which scientists see as critical if the world is to meet the 1.5
degree Celsius target.减少排放焦点似乎因埃及增加低排放能源呼声
最后插入而削弱(俄罗斯入侵
Ukrain 和随后对俄罗斯油气公司的制裁触发非俄毒气的
点头)。
EU和UK表示失望,因为最终结果没有改善COP26上所作的
减排承诺委副会长表示, 国家有“下降短路 ” 补充道 : “我们应该多做多做多做多做多.我们Br失望我们没有实现这一点。 ”英国的 Alok
Sharma-CEP26主席表示,这一失望得到响应,他注意到省略逐步停用化石
燃料的承诺和任何语言都要求到2025年排放量封顶增强科学理解天然气生产中甲烷泄漏对
短期气候的影响以及比纯可再生能源游戏高排放轨迹概念加深了关于天然气过渡作用的辩论和争议Sharma总结说'br','我在Glasgow表示脉冲为1.5度微弱可惜它仍然保留在生命'br>支持上's/p>
butititn't all badNews..
除创建新的损耗基金外,CP27
中的其他亮点包括:
Celsius目标至关重要,因为它们是世界上两个最大排放者,并共同负责
全球排放量的50%; a交易214公司和政府承诺淘汰柴油和油车
2040; a200亿美元印尼能源过渡计划,以落实为
南非在COP26上创建的计划; Reference公告减少油气
操作的甲烷排放,开发绿色运输挑战,拓展Pirst Moler联运
区块并启动新的全球碳信用交易创举以加速发展中国家投资
能源转换和 协议中某些细节的巴黎协议处理
国际碳交易市场问题。
来自COP27的另一个亮点是多场边事件的广泛讨论,包括深入评估
对粮食和农业的影响和各种机会。
COP27还反映企业和民间社会作用在
COP进程的持续制度化COPs不再是单纯的联合国谈判,而只是定期
全球会议的一部分,由关注并受全球气候挑战影响者组成squmel>br>Sheik继续提升全球气候问题,并集中媒体和公关关注这一挑战-埃及有3000多媒体br>代表反映这一点。
阐明了这些计划的透明度和一致性原则并支持国际
净零排放计划核算和报告新标准,由国际>br>Stards组织发布,新努力还侧重于自愿碳>br市场排减的完整性关键元素包括基于科学的
目标需要进取短期排减量并重新呼唤企业和行业协会的气候倡导立场一致性
公司可以期望强化审查净零计划,基于这些
清除标准和期望。
归根结底,美国重新参战上个年度气候变化问题论坛由拜登总统(内阁秘书大全)和SqlmelSheik国会代表团组成,以突出美国投资解决Climate
change-历史记录(Investment
Rectection或IRA),帮助帮助美国运行自己的
NDC承诺并突出清洁能源和先进技术经济
契机。
Comment
>微弱最后文本引导多位推理家得出结论说,将气候变化限制为1.5摄氏度可能不再有
现实性:鉴于今年干旱和洪涝对世界多处造成的损害,这些损害已经影响到
世界多处,仅摄氏1.1摄氏度,这是一个暗淡的未来。But, since COP is the best we have
by way of a global system for managing climate change, it is a process that will have to be
made to work.
One other important lesson which should be taken away from the heated debate over differing
priorities at COP27 is the difficulty in neatly categorizing and separating "implementation" from
the issues of emissions reduction, global ambition, equity, integrity, and transparency that
underlie a solution to addressing climate change.
In terms of what we should expect from next year's COP28, there will be a focus on how to
operationalize the loss and damage fund, as well as a continued focus on the Global Goal on
Adaptation, the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance, and perhaps most important
for continued mitigation, the first Global Stocktake assessing progress on the NDCs of individual
countries and the on-going role of private sector emissions reduction commitments.
But achieving these tangible outcomes will require a sustained effort to rebuild trust and
confidence between the Global North and Global South.
2022年3月3日和14日,欧洲财务报告咨询组发布最新一套工作文件,介绍欧盟未来可持续性报告标准ESRS将建立数十项可持续性相关披露要求,根据企业可持续性报告指令对数千个欧盟公司强制发布(见),并发布ISSB和EFRAG气候原型 )。
/p>ESRS结构将符合CSRDESG框架三大支柱,每个标题下有若干报告标准逐行报告标准转归各种披露要求.in thes/covcommunicate.com/129/4984/uploads/csrd-stable-esg-dorps-and-工作文件建议ESRS公司报告社会问题,如同酬差和广泛受保护群体歧视事件(如种族或民族血统、残疾、年龄或性取向)。详细程度报告将粒子化,并包括性骚扰事件等,即使不再受行动约束。强制披露将扩展至公司集体谈判协议(逐国协议)和强迫劳动事件、人权或童工等信息公司应报告所有事件并提供实例摘要证明它们的补救行动。
公司目前可能有流程收集自身员工信息,ESRS披露也将覆盖非雇员、价值链工人、消费者和粒度终端用户manbext网页版The relevant facts for these disclosures may often lie outside of the EU and across companies' global operations.* * *
If you have any questions concerning the material discussed in this blog post, please contact any of the following members of our ESG, Capital Markets and Securities, and Business and Human Rights teams: Sarah Bishop, Mellissa Campbell Duru, Sinéad Oryszczuk, Paul Mertenskötter, and Ivy-Victoria Otradovec.
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。
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。
This blog presents an overview of some of the detailed climate-related disclosure and reporting metrics covered by the ISSB and EFRAG climate prototypes, and highlights critical considerations for companies as more detailed and mandatory ESG and sustainability reporting frameworks begin to take shape.
Global Context & COP26 Pledges
Major developments that emerged from the November 2021 COP26 summit included the announcement of the new Glasgow Climate Pact, a renewed emphasis on the role of the private sector in addressing climate change risks and opportunities, and the launch of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, a coalition of existing and new net zero finance initiatives dedicated to assisting companies realign their business models for net zero.
In addition, a critical adjunct to COP26 was the announcement of the launch of the ISSB and its work towards the development of uniform global environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") reporting standards.ISSB表示努力鼓励全球吸收并合并为现有ESG报告标准(包括框架,如气候相关财务披露工作队和气候披露标准理事会倡议)。ESG报告标准全球基线旨在向投资者、资本市场参与者和各种其他利益攸关方提供关于公司可持续性相关风险和机会的信息类似于姐妹组织国际会计准则理事会,ISSB将由国际财务报告标准基金会管理。
The scope of the Climate Prototype encompasses physical climate-related risks, risks associated with the transition to a lower-carbon economy, as well as climate-related opportunities for the entity.
Pursuant to ISSB's Climate Prototype, an entity shall disclose the following cross-industry climate metrics:
| Greenhouse gas emissions | Scope 1, 2 and 3 in metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent. |
| Transition risks | Amount and percentage of assets and business activities vulnerable to transition risk. |
| Physical risks | Amount and percentage of assets and business activities vulnerable to physical risks. |
| Climate-related opportunities | Proportion of revenue, assets or business activities aligned with climate-related opportunities (in amount or percentage). |
| Capital deployment | Amount of capital expenditure, financing or investment deployed toward climate-related risks and opportunities (in reporting currency). |
| Internal carbon prices | Entity's internal price for each metric tonne of GHG emissions. |
| Remuneration | Proportion of executive management remuneration affected by climate-related considerations in current period. |
Importantly, the Climate Prototype foresees additional industry-specific climate metrics for companies to report on.ISSB气候原型附录B汇总行业报告要求其中包括为每个行业具体确定的多重需求,例如软件服务公司水压区抽取和耗用水或棕榈油供应链报告公司家庭和个人产品销售报告In light of the growing interdependence between the many ongoing ESG regulatory initiatives (especially those originating in the EU), this reporting requirement should, for example, be considered in the context of recently announced national and international deforestation due diligence requirements for specified products being placed on the UK and EU markets.
2. EFRAG's Climate Standard Prototype: Towards Harmonization?
The ISSB's Climate and General Requirements Prototypes are particularly interesting because EFRAG released a similar framework under the Climate Standard Prototype Working Paper in September 2021.EFRAG框架响应欧盟委员会关于s/www.insideEnergyandense.com/2021/05/the-e-Corporate-divity-proposition-what-company-dessb的Climate原型可能直接影响到欧盟规则。
Compaments也可能感兴趣地注意到EFRAG工作文件和Climate原型都覆盖相似水平的报告,侧重于部门不可知性报告、部门专用报告和实体专用报告EFRAG工作文件捕捉约三分之二ISSB气候原型,其余三分之一有可能在未来数月中补充EFRAG部门特有标准。
本分类法是欧洲日益注重提高气候相关活动透明度的又一标志,但它也是一套本已复杂图象中的另一套标准和指标。At a COP26 side event, for example, EFRAG's work was examined in the context of the ISSB and the work of the TCFD.
Key Takeaways
Two main recommendations flow out of the current landscape on sustainability reporting developments.
- Companies should consider which aspects of their current voluntary sustainability reporting could be integrated into mandatory financial and non-financial sustainability reporting requirements in the future. As new standards emerge, companies have an opportunity to actively monitor developments and "best practices" within their industry and to proactively prepare for future mandatory reporting requirements.美联储报表公司还应该考虑ISSB和EFRAG披露原型方面会如何影响美国正在考虑的与气候有关的披露规则证券交易委员会公司应开始识别本行业相关度量值,制定策略和过程识别物风险和机会,并开发必要的报告控制程序以确保信息收集与报告及时准确性。
The Commission's proposal tries to carefully define the scope of the CBAM to ensure its integrity and effective link with the EU Emissions Trading System ("ETS").The CBAM proposal is designed to apply to specific industrial sectors for which the EU domestic industry is subject to the ETS, that are at high risk of carbon leakage, and for which it is feasible to calculate embedded GHG emissions.
However, the proposal's current wording suggests that, once the CBAM is in force and the Commission adopts the necessary implementing legislation, it may also have an indirect coverage extending to many other products and sectors than those formally covered. This is for the following reasons.
Formally, the proposed CBAM would apply to iron and steel, aluminium, cement, and fertilizer products and to electricity.拟覆盖的确切类型是那些属于欧盟联合名词即NC编码中的关税分类线的那些产品,这些产品列于提案附件一中。Annex I also covers several complex goods that rely on precursor production steps. For example, the following four types of complex goods would be subject to the CBAM: (i) white Portland cement [CN 2523 21 00], (ii) mineral or chemical fertilisers containing the three fertilising elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium [CN 3105 20], (iii) tubes and pipes, having circular cross-sections, the external diameter of which exceeds 40.64 cm, of iron or steel [CN 7305], and (iv) aluminium foil [CN 7607]. (We provide a full table with the CN codes that determine which products are covered by the CBAM at the end of this blog post.)
In practice, however, the current wording of the proposal suggests that there is a risk that the CBAM may require including the embedded emissions of goods falling outside the industrial sectors explicitly covered (iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilizers ) when assessing the embedded emissions of goods that do fall within the CN Codes listed in the Annex to the proposal. This is because manufacturing the complex goods listed, such as the examples above, will require a number of input materials, some of which may be outside the scope of Annex I.For example, manufacturing aluminium foil may require the use of paper or biocides or other chemicals.
The current legal design of the CBAM Regulation appears to leave open the possibility that the CBAM would indirectly cover sectors and categories of goods not falling within the CN codes of Annex I. The Commission's proposal does not clearly define the boundaries of the calculation of embedded emissions for complex goods and therefore fails to make clear whether emissions from products in other categories (e.g., paper and biocides) are included in calculating the emissions from a complex good falling with the CN Codes of Annex I (e.g., aluminium foil).
Instead, once the CBAM Regulation is adopted, the proposal foresees that it would be for the European Commission to set the "system boundaries" that would define the exact input materials the embedded emissions of which must be added when calculating the embedded emissions of a complex good covered by the CBAM. In short, only the Commission's decision on the "system boundaries" would bring legal certainty with respect to the CBAM's exact scope.
What is more, this indeterminacy of the CBAM's scope before the Commission has set the "system boundaries" would extend the discussions on the potential impact of the CBAM years beyond the formal adoption of the CBAM Regulation. This could also be a bargaining chip of the European Commission during its international climate change negotiations with third countries.
From an EU domestic law perspective, it is unclear whether the European Parliament and Council may empower the European Commission with such seemingly wide discretion.设置系统边界有效允许委员会确定CBAM间接覆盖的货物类别依据《欧洲联盟功能条约》,这完全可被视为CBAM规则的“基本元素”,超出议会和理事会授予委员会的权力范围,尚有待观察议会和理事会在审议委员会未来数月通过建议时是否会同意这一广泛的授权范围。
CBAM范围不确定性更远委员会的建议授权委员会在贸易模式改变除避免CBAM义务外没有充分正当理由或经济理由的情况下对规避行为采取行动举例说,如果第三国对欧盟的贸易模式显示附件一所列货物(如铁管道)明显下降,并显示下游货物相应增加使用CBAM所覆盖的附件一货物输入物(如使用铁管道搭建表),委员会可采取行动。Such circumvention related action could, again, extend the CBAM's scope.
Table with the CN Codes that Determine which Products are Covered by the CBAM
Cement
| Cement clinkers | 2523 10 00 |
| White Portland cement, whether or not artificially coloured | 2523 21 00 |
| Other Portland cement | 2523 29 00 |
| Other hydraulic cements | 2523 90 00 |
Electricity
| Electrical energy | 2716 00 00 |
Fertilisers
| Nitric acid!sulphitrices | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7301 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Railway or tramway track construction material of iron or steel, the following: rails, check-rails and rack rails, switch blades, crossing frogs, point rods and other crossing pieces, sleepers (cross-ties), fish- plates, chairs, chair wedges, sole plates (base plates), rail clips, bedplates, ties and other material specialised for jointing or fixing rails | 7302 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tubes and Pipes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, of cast iron | 7303 00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, seamless, of iron (other than cast iron) or steel | 7304 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tubes and pipes (for example, welded, riveted or similarly closed), having circular cross-sections, the external diameter of which exceeds 406,4 mm, of iron or steel | 7305 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open seam or welded, riveted or similarly closed), of iron or steel | 7306 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves), of iron or steel | 7307 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large Industrial Structures (rods, tanks, drums, etc.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge-sections, lock- gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns), of iron or steel!plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures, of iron or steel | 7308 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reservoirs, tanks, vats and similar containers for any material (other than compressed or liquefied gas), of iron or steel, of a capacity exceeding 300 l, whether or not lined or heat-insulated, but not fitted with mechanical or thermal equipment | 7309 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tanks, casks, drums, cans, boxes and similar containers, for any material (other than compressed or liquefied gas), of iron or steel, of a capacity not exceeding 300 l, whether or not lined or heat-insulated, but not fitted with mechanical or thermal equipment | 7310 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Containers for compressed or liquefied gas, of iron or steel | 7311 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Aluminium
| Unwrought aluminium | 7601 |
| Aluminium powders and flakes | 7603 |
| Aluminium bars, rods and profiles | 7604 |
| Aluminium wire | 7605 |
| Aluminium plates, sheets and strip, of a thickness exceeding 0,2 mm | 7606 |
| Aluminium foil (whether or not printed or backed with paper, paper-board, plastics or similar backing materials) of a thickness (excluding any backing) not exceeding 0,2mm | 7607 |
| Aluminium tubes and pipes | 7608 |
| Aluminium tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves) | 7609 00 00 |
The European Commission is currently discussing a draft of a proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ("CBAM") Regulation that it is expected to present on July 14, 2021. A CBAM was already announced in the European Commission's Communication for a Green Deal and is intended to protect the EU's domestic industry that is at risk of carbon leakage—to create a level playing field—and to serve as a policy tool to encourage third countries to reduce their greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions.
The CBAM draft proposal is subject to intense negotiations among the different Directorates-General of the European Commission, and it is likely that it will be amended several times before the Commission finally presents it on July 14. Nevertheless, the draft already suggests that the CBAM proposal will require importers of covered goods into the EU to purchase and surrender a number of CBAM certificates that reflect the goods' embedded emissions.依据欧洲议会s/www.europara.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0071_EN.html>决议 ,CBAM建议可能包含以下元素:
In addition to the details of the CBAM Regulation yet to be concluded by the EU, it also remains to be seen how the EU's pending efforts to adopt the CBAM will affect other international carbon pricing and climate mitigation efforts. However, the timing of the EU's movement on the CBAM is significant in the context of the G7 Communiqué from the Cornwall meeting, which "acknowledge[s] the risk of carbon leakage" and "recognise[s] the potential of high integrity carbon markets and carbon pricing to foster cost-efficient reductions in emissions levels, drive innovation and enable a transformation to net zero." These actions provide important fodder for the prospect of a more significant international agreement on carbon pricing as momentum continues to build toward the Glasgow COP 26 in November.
和(2) 长期而言,根据2020s://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/eu-Coltics-action/law_enFollowing the adoption of the EU Taxonomy Regulation (explained further below), the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, and the Benchmark Regulation, which enhances the transparency of benchmark methodologies, the Commission has in this legislative package laid out the next building blocks for its envisioned sustainable finance ecosystem.
In addition to the impact on financial institutions and investors directly subject to the new laws, the Sustainable Finance Package may impact corporates in the following ways:
- Corporates may be more likely to receive requests for data on their environmental and other sustainability practices as upstream capital markets participants grapple with new obligations to distinguish between green, "light green," and other investments;
- Corporates may be subject to direct requirements to report on activities relating to their environmental, social, and governance objectives;
- Longer-term, the package may form the basis of a "blueprint" for wider stakeholders, meaning that corporates may need to improve performance against the standards, not just to attract capital, but also to remain competitive!并
- 在全球层面,这些欧盟可持续性措施有真正潜力成为黄金标准并影响欧盟以外的投资市场,这是一个被称为`BrutselsEffect'的现象。
The draft TCDA (in its Annexes, here and here) sets forth sector-specific definitions of environmentally sustainable economic activities, ranging from manufacturing to electricity generation and transport. Notably, although the TCDA sets criteria for when hydrogen manufacture may be considered a sustainable investment (as we discussed in a recent article), it does not cover natural gas or nuclear energy, which are expected to be covered by supplementary technical screening criteria later this year. The Commission will establish a web portal where stakeholders can make suggestions on other areas in mid-2021!可持续金融委员会和平台将评估这些建议。
Timeline bsistom规则于2020年7月12日生效,但核心透明度和披露规定从2022年1月1日起将仅适用于气候变化缓解和适应目标自2023年1月1日起,这些规定也将适用于分类规范中的其他环境目标。
TCDA仍受欧洲议会和理事会审查,它们有3个月时间提出任何反对意见,理论上可以阻塞TCDA的通过TCDA预期从2022瀑布应用 。
建议公司可持续性报告指令 >
反之,CSRD将适用于所有大研究结果将载入公司管理报告并发布于众,并通过设想的欧洲单一存取点向所有人提供https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economist-euro/Crap-and-Investment/Captive-markets-uni然而,只有当委员会认为第三国可持续性报告义务与欧盟义务等值时,才提供豁免,该义务符合
Timeline 如果欧洲议会和成员国能够就标准达成协议-这不是定点-成员国将需要在2022年12月1日前执行指令manbext网页版Companies that are within the scope of the Directive would have to comply from financial years starting on or after 1 January 2023, meaning they would need to publish reports from 2024, whilst SMEs would have to comply from January 1, 2026. If you have any questions concerning the material discussed in this blog, please contact the following members of our team: John Ahern +44 20 7067 2190 jahern@cov.com
Sebastian Vos +32 2 549 5267 svos@cov.com
Thomas Reilly +44 20 7067 2000 treilly@cov.com
Sinéad Oryszczuk +44 207 067 2141 soryszczuk@cov.com
Sarah Crowder +44 20 7067 2393 scrowder@cov.com
Paul Mertenskötter +32 2 545 7517 pmertenskoetter@cov.com
[1] This term, coined by Anu Bradford of Columbia Law School, describes how the EU effectively sets global norms.企业通过严格的欧盟规则在欧洲市场合法运营,然后在全球遵守这些规则以尽量减少守法成本正像欧盟规则被视为金标准, 其他国家政府和国际组织复制规则, 并进一步加强这一效果 。