BC emissions inventories
Action 2.3: Lay foundations for potential future changes in black carbon emissions reporting requirements
Reporting of national black carbon emissions inventories is not legally required under any international treaty/legislation.
2.3b Evaluate whether EU NECD has produced the desired level of black carbon reporting by EU Member States
2.3b Short-term: 2025
2.3b National
2.3b EU
Compiling and reporting black carbon inventories is formally encouraged under the Air Convention and AC while under EU NECD the reporting of black carbon inventories is conditionally mandatory – i.e., the reporting of black carbon emissions is compulsory if national black carbon inventories are available.
A process towards potential mandatory black carbon reporting would be long. To lay foundations for potential changes in the future, a good starting point would be evaluation of whether the desired level of black carbon reporting is reached within the existing (even though non-mandatory) reporting schemes – under the Gothenburg Protocol (Component 2.3a) and under EU NECD (Component 2.3b).
Component 7.3a. Evaluate whether the amended Gothenburg Protocol produced the desired level black carbon reporting
High level of black carbon emissions reporting has been achieved with international agreements that encourage, rather than oblige, compilation and sharing of the respective data - such as the Gothenburg protocol within the Air Convention. The Convention’s Working Group on Strategies and Review will review the amended Gothenburg Protocol, which could in principle initiate a process whereby subsequent draft revisions are developed. These could include specific proposals for changes in black carbon reporting requirements that build upon suggestions submitted by the Convention’s policy review group report during the development of the 2020-2030 Convention strategy.
Even if the amended Gothenburg Protocol would be revised and such a revision enter into force (beyond 2030), any potential change in black carbon reporting requirements would only apply to the Parties that have ratified the revised Protocol. Only a decision by the Executive Body on minimum reporting obligations could facilitate a change of Convention-wide reporting requirements. Such Executive Body decisions normally require consensus among the Parties. Increased capacity building to enable voluntary reporting of black carbon (Actions 2.1 and 2.2) will be vital in generating consensus on this issue.
Component 2.3b. Evaluate whether EU NECD has produced the desired level of black carbon reporting by EU Member States
Under EU NECD, black carbon emissions reporting is compulsory if national black carbon inventories are available. While the level of reporting is high, as of 2020, Austria and Luxembourg remain the two EU countries yet to report black carbon emissions. The 2025 evaluation of the EU NECD thus provide an opportunity for the European Commission to investigate whether the current legislation is producing the desired level of black carbon reporting by EU Member States.
