(fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1122 lays down the rules for the functioning of the Union Registry, established under Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. 

(2) Regulation (EU) 2018/841was amended to provide for the contribution of the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector to the increased Union ambition to reduce greenhouse gas net emissions by at least 55 % by 2030 and to ensure that the LULUCF sector makes a sustainable and predictable long-term contribution to the Union climate neutrality objective. 

(3) According to Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2018/841, the Union Registry is to ensure the recording and accurate carrying out of operations in accordance with that Regulation. 

(4) The Union Registry rules laid down by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1122 should therefore be amended in order to enable the recording of the quantities of emissions and removals in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/841 and to ensure the accurate accounting of transactions related to the exercise of the flexibilities provided for in Articles 11, 12, 13, 13a and 13b of that Regulation, any methodological adjustment carried out in accordance with Article 14(1a) of that Regulation, and the assessment of compliance in accordance with Article 13c of that Regulation. The Union Registry should ensure that no transfers or transactions are carried out that are incompatible with the obligations resulting from Regulation (EU) 2018/841. 

(5) Regulation (EU) 2018/841 introduced two compliance periods, namely, 2021 to 2025 and 2026 to 2030, during which Member States are to have access to certain flexibilities for the purpose of compliance with the obligations imposed by that Regulation. 

(6) As a consequence, and in order to enable the recording and accurate carrying out of the operations referred to in Article 15(1), points (a) to (d), of Regulation (EU) 2018/841, several new accounts should be established in the Union Registry. 

(7) In order to reflect the difference in characteristics between the two compliance periods, one Union compliance account for greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry (‘EU LULUCF Compliance Account’) should be opened for each of the two LULUCF compliance periods. The EU LULUCF Compliance Account should reflect the sum of the net emissions or net removals recorded in the Member State LULUCF compliance accounts. 

(8) Similarly, one ‘Member State LULUCF Compliance Account’ should be opened for each Member State for each of the two LULUCF compliance periods. In the first LULUCF compliance period, the flexibility mechanisms provided for in Regulation (EU) 2018/841 are only available to certain land accounting categories. Therefore, the quantity of accounted emissions and removals for each land accounting category should be recorded in the Member State LULUCF Compliance Account. In the second LULUCF compliance period, the land use mechanism is available for all land reporting categories. Thus, it is sufficient to record the total reported emissions and removals for the land reporting categories. To allow for an assessment of compliance, both the Member State’s target as laid down in column C of the table in Annex IIa to Regulation (EU) 2018/841 and the budget set out for that Member State should be reflected in the Member State LULUCF Compliance Account. 

(9) In order to assess to which extent the flexibilities referred to in Articles 12, 13, 13a and 13b of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 should be made available, and after the introduction of the LULUCF relevant data in the Member State’s LULUCF Compliance Account, the Union Registry should calculate the balance of that account against either the ‘no-debit’ rule covering the first LULUCF compliance period, or the Member State specific target for the second LULUCF compliance period taking into account any methodological adjustment carried out during the second LULUCF compliance period. 

(10) Where the balance of the Member State LULUCF Compliance Account is positive, the Union Registry should issue land removal units (‘LRUs’) in the LULUCF Compliance Account of the Member State concerned. LRUs should only be held in the Member State LULUCF Compliance Account in the Union Registry, and their transfer should only be allowed under certain conditions and upon request of the Member State. In accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2018/841, Member States have the possibility to transfer any surplus of their LRUs to their compliance accounts under Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council (ESR Compliance Account) or the LULUCF Compliance Account of another Member State. 

(11) To make use of the managed forest land flexibility available to the Member States in the first LULUCF compliance period, a Union managed forest land flexibility central account (‘EU MFLFA Central Account’) should be opened in the Union Registry and managed forest land flexibility allocation units (‘MFLFA’) should be created and reflected in the EU MFLFA Central Account in the quantities available to Member States as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/841. Transfers of such allocation units from this account should be enabled where the conditions set out in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 are fulfilled. 

(12) To make use of additional compensation available to Finland under Regulation (EU) 2018/841, a Central Additional Compensation Account for Finland should be opened in the Union Registry and the additional flexibility allocation units for Finland (‘AFAF’) should be created and reflected in that account in the quantities available to Finland for the first LULUCF compliance period as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/841. Transfers of such allocations to the LULUCF Compliance Account of Finland should be enabled where the conditions set out in Article 13a of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 are fulfilled. 

(13) At the end of the first LULUCF compliance period, excess LRUs from the Member State LULUCF compliance accounts should be transferred to the EU LULUCF Compliance Account in order to allow, in the second LULUCF compliance period, for the assessment of whether the Union has met its target in order to gain access to the land use flexibility mechanism in the second compliance period and should be kept in that account in the quantities referred to in Article 13b (3), point (c), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 until the assessment takes place. Any quantity above this threshold should be transferred to the EU LULUCF Deletion Account. 

(14) To make use of the land use flexibility available to the Member States for the second LULUCF compliance period, one Union land use flexibility allocation account (‘EU LUFA Central Account’) should be opened in the Union Registry and land use flexibility allocation units (‘LUFA’) should be created and reflected in that account in the quantities available to Member States in accordance with the land use mechanism as laid down in Article 13b(4) of Regulation (EU) 2018/841. Transfers of such allocation units should be enabled where the conditions set out in Article 13b of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 are fulfilled. 

(15) To assess whether the objectives of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 have been achieved, the Union Registry should also enable the compliance checks set out in Regulation (EU) 2018/841 by providing a procedure for the introduction of the reviewed greenhouse gas emissions data in the Member State LULUCF Compliance Accounts, for the calculation of the balance of those accounts, the determination of their compliance status figure , and to reflect the results of any recalculations necessary resulting from methodological adjustments carried out in accordance with Article 14(1a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/841. 

(16) To this end, for the second LULUCF compliance period, where there has been a change of methodology used by Member States under Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council resulting in a difference between the average greenhouse gas inventory data as submitted in 2020 for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, the average greenhouse gas inventory data as submitted in 2025 for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, and the average greenhouse gas inventory data as submitted for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 in 2032, the Union Registry should calculate the difference between the average greenhouse gas inventory data and the reviewed average greenhouse gas inventory data for those years and ensure that the result of the calculation is accurately reflected in the budget set for the Member State in the Member State LULUCF Compliance Account. 

(17) Similarly, to reflect the change of methodology used by Member States under Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 in the second LULUCF compliance period, resulting in a difference between the average greenhouse gas inventory data as submitted in 2020 for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, and the average greenhouse gas inventory data as submitted in 2032 for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Union Registry should calculate the difference between the sum of the average greenhouse gas inventory data and the sum of the reviewed average greenhouse gas inventory data for those years and ensure that the result of the calculation is accurately reflected in the EU LULUCF Compliance Account. 

(18) To ensure an accurate assessment of compliance with the obligations of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 and in order to facilitate the process, the Union Registry should allow for automated checks on each transaction carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/841, and where necessary, it should block any transaction that does not comply with the requirements laid down in that Regulation. 

(19) Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1122 should therefore be amended accordingly,