Dublin, 22/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The way has been cleared for increased surveillance of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union. European legislation which lays down new requirements for surveillance and a reporting obligation on these emissions, nationally and at EU level, was formally adopted by the Council of the EU on Monday 22 April.
This new legislation takes account both of the experience in emissions surveillance acquired by the EU in the framework of its climate/energy legislative package of 2009, and of international decisions adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The regulation will come into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and will replace the current surveillance mechanism established by decision 280/2004/EC. The text, which was adopted without debate on the sidelines of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg, is the result of a first-reading agreement with the European Parliament. (AN/transl.fl)