EU-ETS Reporting Resource Center

Universal Global Regulatory Services

About EU-ETS (and who's affected)

In Spring 2009, the European Union announced plans to expand the scope of its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to include aviation. In simple terms, EU-ETS is a mandatory regulation requiring all non-commercial operators who travel into, out of, and between EU Member States to monitor their CO2 flight emissions starting 1 January 2010.

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How to


Registering for EU-ETS

Before reporting for EU-ETS, you will need to register with the European Commission (EC) to be assigned a Member State which administrates your program. Follow these steps below.

Step 1: Apply for/confirm your EU Member State

What is an EU Member State and how does it relate to your operation?

A Member State of the European Union is any one of the sovereign states that have acceded to the European Union (EU). All operators are assigned a specific EU Member State as their regulatory authority within EU-ETS.

When will you be required to apply for/confirm a Member State?

Within 8 weeks after your first applicable trip to an EU-ETS participating country.

EU Member States:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

EFTA (European Free Trade Agreement) Countries:
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

EU Outlying Territories:
Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, The Azores, Madeira, The Canary Islands, Aland Islands, Saint Martin (French), Akrotiri and Dhekelia

What do you need to do?

Identify if you have already been assigned a Member State

If your flight department has not yet taken any action in regard to EU-ETS, your first step is to identify if you have already be assigned to an EU Member State. Your assigned Member State has a Competent Authority to which you will regularly report emissions.

Operator List 6 | PDF updated January 29, 2013

Complete history of Operator Lists and Prior Compliance Lists released by the European Commission

The following lists are provided for historical reference only. To identify your current Member State assignment, please refer to the latest version list(s) provided above.

Notes: Prior Compliance lists show those NEW operators who have been assigned a member state. Operator Lists are comprehensive lists of all operators and their member state assignment.

Are you already on the list above?

If you've already identified your Member State, contact its competent authority to get details about its specific monitoring plans submission process.

Contact Information for Member States | PDF

If you are already on the list, proceed to this step.

Not on the list?

If you cannot identify your aircraft on any Member State list, you must submit a Fleet List form to the European Commission to be assigned to Member State. To do this:

Next steps

The European Commission will publish an updated Operator List each February on its Web site. Prior to February, the Commission publishes a Prior Compliance List at irregular intervals which specifies new operators being added to the upcoming official Operator List. Check back here for the latest version.

Important to note

Until your company's name is shown in writing on the Operator List, you are not held accountable to any Member State's deadlines. Do not submit your monitoring plans until you have been designated to a Member State.

Step 2: Submit your monitoring plans to EU Member State

What monitoring plans must I submit?

Once you have received confirmation of the EU Member State to which you are assigned (see Step 1), you are required to submit the following:

  • Annual emission-monitoring plan (required)
  • Data-flow chart (required; Emission-monitoring-plan-process flow chart)
  • Tonne-Kilometre monitoring plan (optional)

Deadline?

You must do this within 8 weeks of being assigned a Member State.

What do you need to do?

Contact your EU Member State for procedure and set a timeline for submission

Contact Information for Member States | PDF

Your Member State will advise you on process for submitting your plan for approval.

Complete the required annual emissions monitoring plan and data flow chart

Additional assistance in creation of monitoring plans is available through Universal Global Regulatory Service. Contact us for more information.

Important to note

  • A monitoring plan submission fee applies (varies by Member State).
  • Beginning with your first applicable trip to an EU-ETS participating country, you should begin monitoring and recording your EU-ETS required data. See next section for details.

Complete the optional Tonne-Kilometre monitoring plan

Why is this important?

The Tonne-Kilometre monitoring plan is required to register for the EU-ETS optional benchmarking scheme. If you have frequent operations to, from, and between EU Member States, Universal® recommends that you take part in the benchmarking scheme. This will allow you to receive carbon credits as free allowances for your annual emissions from 2012–2020.

Important to note

  • The initial optional benchmarking period for 2010 has closed. The next benchmark period will be for operations in the calendar year 2014 (except operators assigned to Croatia which will allow benchmarking for operations in 2012).
  • A one-time Member State submission fee applies (varies by Member State)
  • Third-party verification is required for your Tonne-Kilometre report.
  • If you have few annual flights impacted by EU-ETS legislation, consider performing a cost-benefit analysis to determine if submitting the Tonne-Kilometre plan is right for your operation.
  • The individual allocation for each operator is proportional to the (reported and verified) Tonne-Kilometres that were flown over the course of the benchmarking year.

Submit plans per the process outlined by your EU Member State

As process varies from country to country, please contact your Member State for more information.

Contact Information for Member States | PDF

Next steps

Once you submit your plans, a reviewer from your EU Member State's environmental authority will contact you to confirm receipt. The reviewer will provide feedback on your submitted plan and advise of any required changes.

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EU-ETS Monitoring, Reporting and Verification

After you have registered with the European Commission (EC) and have been assigned a Member State which administrates your program, you are ready to begin your annual emissions monitoring and reporting. Follow these steps below.

Note: This process applies to you if this is your second year filing, as well.

What is this?

This is the annual aviation-emission reporting template for tracking CO2 emissions as required for EU-ETS compliance. This report will need to be verified by an approved third-party verifier prior to submission.

Deadline?

Annual aviation-emissions monitoring begins 1 January each calendar year for EU-ETS. Your initial third-party verified report must be submitted to your Member State's regulatory authority no later than 31 March of each calendar year. During the pre-trading period in effect 2010 and 2011, annual emissions reporting will be required, but no carbon offset credits will need to be purchased or traded.

Beginning with the 2012 annual emissions report (submitted by 31 March 2013), operators will be required to purchase or apply carbon credits to retroactively offset all CO2 emissions.

What do you need to do?

Begin tracking your required annual emissions data.

Identify affected trips based on arrival/destination ICAOs that fall within Member States/territories, and capture required datasets for your annual aviation-emissions reporting. See reporting template below.

Calculate your emissions data.

You have two options for the calculation of annual emissions. You can use either estimated fuel consumption using an EC-approved tool or you can use actual fuel consumption.

Universal recommends using the European Commission's small emitters tool for estimated fuel consumption for any operator who qualifies. Before downloading this tool, please read through the guidance on small emitter thresholds.

European Commission's small emitters tool (recommend option)

You do not need to download this tool if you subscribe to Universal's EU-ETS Emissions Reporting Portal, as this tool is already integrated with the portal.

For operators that choose to use actual fuel consumption, there are two calculation options available.

Compile your annual emissions report and supporting documents for verification.

Complete the below template to store calculated CO2 emissions data for validation and annual reporting:

Blank EU-ETS annual emissions monitoring (AEM) report template (updated March 1, 2011) | XLS

Play tutorial View a sample completed form

Supporting documents needed

  • Declaration statement
  • Copy of approved monitoring plan
  • Approval letter from competent authority
  • EUROCONTROL invoices
  • Applicable correspondence with Competent Authority
  • QA assessment of your internal process (which demonstrates your EU-ETS processes are valid for producing accurate data)
  • Risk assessment (if applicable)

For samples or guidance on any of the above, contact Universal Global Regulatory Services.

Submit package to third-party verifier.

Prior to submitting your annual report to your Member State, it must be reviewed by an approved third-party verifier for EU-ETS.

Approved EU-ETS third-party emissions data verifiers by Member State ∇

Universal can also arrange third-party verifications services on your behalf. Contact Global Regulatory Services for more information.

Upon completion, the verifier will issue you a Verification Opinion Statement (VOS).

Submit to your Member State.

Once you have received your VOS from your verifier, submit it to your Member State along with your annual emissions report and supporting documentation by no later than 31 March.

Note: Your Member State should have already provided you instructions for submission. If not, you should contact Universal Global Regulatory Services or your Member State for instructions.

Next steps:

Once you have submitted your annual emissions report, you should receive a confirmation of receipt and approval from your Member State.

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2012-2013 EU-ETS Roadmap to Success
for aviation-emissions reporting

Stay on top of these milestones to ensure your compliance with EU-ETS.

Activities to complete Time frame
  • Submit Improvement Reports via ETSWAP (UK Users)
 Jun 2012
  • Identify requirements and resources for Carbon Registry Account application
 Jul 2012
  • Submit Carbon Registry Account application
  • Inquire (with Member State) about new Monitoring Plan requirements for 2013-2020
 Aug 2012
  • Submit new Phase III AE Monitoring Plan (Required for ALL Operators)
 Sep 2012
  • Activate Carbon Registry account
  • Create or modify monitoring plans (as applicable)
  • Obtain approved plan and approval letter from Competent Authority (as applicable)
 Oct 2012
  • Begin compiling applicable EUROCONTROL invoices (from either third-party providers or from your in-house accounting group)
  • Create a QA assessment validating your internal process (which demonstrates your EU-ETS processes are valid for producing accurate data)
  • Login to Universal's EU-ETS Emissions Reporting Portal and validate Operator Information and Flight Data History
 Nov 2012
  • Collect any applicable correspondence with Competent Authority
  • Complete declaration/agreement statement (new annually)
 Dec 2012
  • Wrap up all activities started September through December
  • Submit your report and supporting documentation to a third-party verifier
  • Begin monitoring process for the new calendar year
 Jan 2013
  • Address any inconsistencies or data gaps reported by the third-party verifier
 Feb 2013
  • Submit verified report and VOS Statement to Competent Authority
 Mar 2013
  • Evaluate VOS Statement (from third-party verifier) and your current monitoring plan for any necessary amendments
 Apr 2013
  • Submit your amended monitoring plan to Competent Authority (if applicable)
 May 2013

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EU-ETS Aviation CO2 Emissions Calculators for Fuel Consumption

Play tutorial

ATTENTION: Universal does not store any data in connection with your use of the calculation tools it has developed to support your emissions-reporting obligations. It is your responsibility to retain all necessary emissions-reporting data for the time period required by each regulatory agency.

Read through Step 3a above before using these CO2-flight-emissions calculators.

Instructions

Fuel Consumption Calculation — Method A:

Weights entered in:
Enter fuel in tanks once fuel uplift for the flight is complete:   Enter fuel in tanks once fuel uplift for the next flight is complete:   Enter fuel uplift for that
next flight:
− +
 
 
Fuel consumed:
TBD tonnes
Total CO2 emissions:
TBD tonnes
Instructions

Fuel Consumption Calculation — Method B:

Weights entered in:
Enter fuel remaining in tanks at block-on at end of previous flight:   Enter fuel uplift for flight:   Enter fuel in tanks at block-on at end of flight:
+ −
 
 
Fuel consumed:
TBD tonnes
Total CO2 emissions:
TBD tonnes

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Fuel Consumption Calculation Methods

Method A

If using Method A, the initial reference point for determining the fuel consumption for the flight would be the measurement of fuel in the aircraft tank(s) immediately after the fuel uplift of fuel for the flight. After landing at the destination, the final reference point for calculating the fuel consumption for the flight would be the measurement of fuel in the aircraft tank(s) immediately after the uplift of fuel for the next flight. The fuel tank measurement after the fuel uplift for the next flight is the sum of the uplift plus what was remaining in the tank(s) after the flight. So the fuel consumption is the difference in the tank readings plus the fuel uplift for the next flight.

Method B

If using Method B, the fuel tank reading reference points are different in that they are taken at block on at the end of flight rather than at the end of fuel uplifts.

Need some help?

Universal has the answers and solutions to help ensure your EU-ETS compliance.

Contact our regulatory experts.

Learn more about Universal's EU-ETS Emissions Reporting Portal.