The Links Between Reporting Requirements under the UNFCCC and EU Governance of 2030 Targets

Publication: Policy Brief
Citation: Bodle, Ralph and Umpfenbach, Katharina (2015): The links between reporting requirements under the UNFCCC and EU governance of 2030 targets. Policy Brief for the European Climate Foundation, Ecologic Institute, Berlin.

Both at the international level and in the European Union, governments are currently negotiating future approaches to mitigating global climate change. In both arenas, a key question is how the institutions will follow-up on the implementation of agreed targets and measures. In this debate about appropriate governance tools, planning and reporting requirements occupy a central role. This policy brief by Ralph Bodle and Katharina Umpfenbach explores the relationship between the current and likely future reporting requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the EU's internal governance system. The policy brief is available for download.

The brief provides an overview of the relationship between the international regime and the EU. It outlines existing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements at international level and sketches out how they may change after 2020. Subsequently, it explores the implications of these international developments for the ongoing debate about an effective EU 2030 governance regime.

Key messages include:

It is as yet not clear to what extent the existing international MRV system will be transferred or apply to the post-2020 climate regime that will based on intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs). But judging from the current pre-Paris state of negotiations, the international MRV regime for the period after 2020 is unlikely to become a driver for a more robust governance system in the EU.
However, the EU is free to go above and beyond mere compliance with existing international rules. The EU could set examples for "what can work" that could be taken up at the international level.
Arguments in favour of "light touch" governance at EU level that refer to lower stringency of the UNFCCC system should be refuted, because they misinterpret the relationship between the two governance levels.
The international governance level has virtually no role in the strategic assessment of which legal instrument(s) to use for implementing streamlined planning and reporting at EU level

Supporting Delivery of Climate Ambition Through the Energy Union

What is needed from Member States' National Energy Plans?

Year 2015

Event:Workshop

The European Commission and EU Member States are currently discussing proposals for a new system of governance. The new set of rules and procedures is expected to help the EU to achieve its climate and energy targets for 2030 and to form an Energy Union. One of the reform’s aims is to streamline existing planning and reporting requirements on energy and climate policy. However, much remains to be clarified about how this new governance framework and the new planning and reporting process will work in practice. The studies are available for download.

A Robust Governance Framework for the EU 2030 Targets and the Energy Union: The Role of Planning and Reporting

12 October 2015
Berlin, Germany

Publication:Report

The EU is currently discussing two overlapping policy frameworks: The Climate and Energy Framework for 2020 to 2030 and the Energy Union strategy. As a key element of the reformed system, the EU intends to reduce administrative burden for member states by streamlining planning and reporting requirements. As a contribution to this debate, a new Ecologic Institute study assesses risks and opportunities of four concrete streamlining options. The study is available for download.

Streamlining Planning and Reporting Requirements in the EU Energy Union Framework

An opportunity for building consistent and transparent strategies

Year 2015

Project

To ensure that the EU meets or potentially overachieves its 2030 energy and climate targets and embarks on a decarbonisation trajectory that is consistent its 2050 objective, an effective and robust governance system is of key importance. Given the diversity of interests among EU Member States, there is a need for innovative thinking on how to design effective approaches that can secure consent in the EU policy-making process. To contribute to this debate, Ecologic Institute develops policy advice on the potential for streamlining existing planning and reporting requirements in the energy and climate policy field while improving their quality and consistency. Moreover, the team is analysing the relationship between the current and likely future reporting requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the EU's internal governance system.

A Robust Governance System for the EU 2030 Energy and Climate Framework

May - Dec 2015

Language: English
Authorship: Dr. Ralph Bodle, LLM

Katharina Umpfenbach
Funding: European Climate Foundation (ECF), International
Year: 2015
Dimension: 14 pp.
Project: A Robust Governance System for the EU 2030 Energy and Climate Framework
Project ID: 2271
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

1 Introduction
2 Governance under the UNFCCC and KP
2.1 Overview: The international climate regime and the EU
2.2 The prospective post-2020 climate regime
2.3 Likely future reporting under the new climate regime post 2020
3 Relevance of the developments at international level for EU discussion on governance of 2030 targets
3.1 The EU's international obligations
3.2 Can we learn lessons from the international level for EU governance?
3.3 Implications of the ongoing international negotiations for the design of the EU 2030 governance
4 Annex: Details of UNFCCC reporting requirements
4.1 Overview
4.2 National Communications (NCs)
4.3 Biennial Reports (BRs)
4.4 Low-emission development strategies (LEDS)
Keywords: Climate

Energy

Governance

EU, 2030, governance, climate, energy, planning, reporting, planing and reporting requirements, UNFCCC, INDCs, MRV

Further Links

PublicationReportStreamlining Planning and Reporting Requirements in the EU Energy Union Framework

Umpfenbach, Katharina (2015): Streamlining planning and reporting requirements in the EU Energy Union framework. An opportunity for building consistent and transparent strategies, Ecologic Institute, Berlin.