(fra europaparlaments- og rådsforordningen)

(1) Supporting efforts towards better sustainability and efficiency of the Union transport system is prerequisite to maintain a stable path towards climate neutrality at the latest by 2050, while taking due account of the need to ensure a fair and inclusive transition, preserve continuous growth and strengthen the competitiveness of European industry.

(2) Greenhouse gas emissions accounting is used in various economic sectors – including transport – to quantify greenhouse gas emission data from specific activities of public bodies, enterprises and consumers. Better information on the performance of transport services is a powerful tool to create the proper incentives for transport users to make more sustainable choices, to influence business decisions of transport operators, transport service organisers and hub operators, and to lower the greenhouse gas emissions from entities carrying out public procurement contracts. Comparable and reliable greenhouse gas emission data are the underlying requirement to create those incentives, and thus to incentivise behavioural change among public bodies, enterprises and consumers alike, in order to contribute to the objectives of the communication of the Commission of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’ for transport and of Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4). This Regulation constitutes one of the actions undertaken by the Union towards a green transition, alongside other Union legal acts or initiatives, including Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).

(3) Despite the growing interest of transport stakeholders, the overall uptake of greenhouse gas emissions accounting of transport services is still limited. In most cases, transport users do not obtain accurate information on the performance of transport services, and transport operators, transport service organisers and hub operators do not calculate and disclose their emissions. A disproportionally low uptake of greenhouse gas emissions accounting is observed particularly among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent the vast majority of enterprises offering transport services on the internal market. In fact, SMEs face disproportionately more financial and administrative burdens when they decide to calculate greenhouse gas emissions from their transport services.

(4) The Commission, in its White Paper of 28 March 2011 entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’, presents a vision for the future of the Union transport system and defines a policy agenda to address the future challenges of transport, in particular the need to maintain and develop mobility, and to reduce considerably the greenhouse gas emissions from transport and logistical operations.

(5) The Commission, in its communication of 9 December 2020 entitled ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future’, refers to incentives for choosing the most sustainable transport options, within and across the modes of transport. Those incentives include the setting up of a European framework for the harmonised measurement of transport and logistics greenhouse gas emissions, based on globally recognised standards, which could then be used to provide businesses and end-users with an estimate of the carbon footprint of their choices, and to increase the demand from end-users and consumers to opt for more sustainable transport and mobility solutions, while avoiding ‘greenwashing’.

(6) Greenhouse gases related to transport and logistics are emitted during the vehicle operation, the operation of transport and logistics hubs, the production of respective energy carriers, the manufacturing and end-of-life of a vehicle, and the construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure.

(7) Laying down harmonised rules for greenhouse gas emissions accounting of freight and passenger transport services is therefore appropriate to attain comparable figures for greenhouse gas emissions from transport services and to avoid misleading information on their performance resulting from the possibility to choose between various emission calculation methods and input data. Such harmonised rules should ensure a level playing field between Union transport and hub entities and transport and hub entities from third countries, between transport modes, segments, and the national transport networks. Laying down harmonised rules should also help create incentives to behavioural change among public bodies, enterprises and consumers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport services through the uptake and use of comparable and reliable greenhouse gas emission data.

(8) This Regulation should provide a reference framework for the calculation and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, on a contractual or voluntary basis for commercial purposes, or where such calculation and disclosure are required by applicable Union or national law. That framework should facilitate other emissions reduction measures that might be further undertaken by public authorities and industry, including where establishing greenhouse gas transparency clauses in transport contracts, providing information on the greenhouse gas emissions from a transport service to passengers or customers, or setting climate-related criteria for green procurement procedures.

(9) Despite benefits stemming from the increased transparency on the performance of transport services, the mandatory application of this Regulation to all transport and hub entities offering transport services in the internal market would be disproportionate and lead to excessive costs and burden. Therefore, this Regulation should apply only to those entities that decide, or are bound by other relevant legislative and non-legislative regimes, to calculate and disclose information on greenhouse gas emissions from freight or passenger transport services that start or end on the territory of the Union. This consequently includes services, the origin or destination points of which are situated in a third country. Indeed, in order to ensure that all relevant transport services are accounted for and guarantee a level playing field between Union transport and hub entities and transport and hub entities from third countries, this Regulation should apply to transport services starting and ending outside the Union territory, but stopping in the Union in order to embark or disembark passengers or to load or unload freight.

(10) This Regulation should apply to entities calculating and disclosing the greenhouse gas emissions from transport services, in particular transport operators, transport service organisers and hub operators, as well as to shippers representing a specific category of transport users who order transport services to move their cargo to or from designated locations and who, depending on the situation, might also take the role of a transport operator, transport service organiser or data intermediary. Developers of external calculation tools, developers of third-party databases and conformity assessment bodies that provide support services for the calculation or verification of greenhouse gas emission data of transport services should be bound by specific rules related to, respectively, the certification of external calculation tools, the technical quality check of default values for greenhouse gas emission intensities, and verification activities and accreditation procedures. This Regulation should also apply to those data intermediaries that calculate and disclose information on greenhouse gas emissions from transport services. When data intermediaries merely obtain or combine output data of greenhouse gas emissions, and then disclose such output data, they should only be bound by the relevant rules related to communication and transparency of the disclosed greenhouse gas emission data, to ensure the comparability of those output data in the market.

(11) The calculation and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions under this Regulation should be carried out in a disaggregated manner, at the level of transport services, in accordance with the methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from transport services referred to in this Regulation. Consequently, this Regulation should not apply where the calculation and disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions are performed in an aggregated form. This includes situations where the mandatory disclosure of environmentally related information for sustainability reporting and the establishment of environmental accounts for statistical purposes are derived from other Union legal acts, such as those set out under Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of Council (6) and Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7). Conversely, it should be possible to use information obtained on the basis of this Regulation to contribute to developing consolidated emission reports required under other applicable Union law, provided that the respective methodologies and collected data are sufficiently compatible.

(12) A proper methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from transport services is one of the key aspects of the harmonised Union framework set out by this Regulation. The methodology should ensure that the emissions calculations performed across a transport chain provide comparable and accurate greenhouse gas emission data, by following a single set of methodological steps. The methodology should also adequately account for the needs of the transport market, in order to avoid unnecessary complexity, excessive burden and costs, particularly for SMEs, and it should be workable for stakeholders.

(13) EN ISO 14083:2023 – Greenhouse gases – Quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions arising from transport chain operations (the ‘EN ISO standard’), published by the European Committee for Standardization in April 2023, should be the common methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from transport services under this Regulation. Promoting its application in the Union fosters international compatibility of greenhouse gas emissions accounting and facilitates further global alignment of the applied methodology. Analysis by the Commission showed that the EN ISO standard is the most relevant and proportionate standard in addressing the objectives of this Regulation, including an increased market uptake and the comparability of greenhouse gas emission data. The calculation of greenhouse gas emissions is performed on a well-to-wheel basis, which includes greenhouse gas emissions stemming from energy provision and vehicle use during transport and hub operations.

(14) The Commission, in cooperation with the European Committee for Standardization and the national standardisation bodies of the Member States, is committed to ensuring full access to this Regulation.

(15) Life-cycle emissions are generally considered to include the well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions, and the emissions from vehicle production, maintenance and disposal, as well as related to transport infrastructure as far as relevant, as set out in Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 (8). Life cycle assessment can, however, lead to high implementation costs and expose transport and hub entities to accounting complexity, particularly for emissions related to transport infrastructure. For reasons of proportionality and scope, this Regulation should not require the use of life cycle assessment without an assessment carried out by the Commission. Furthermore, in order to maintain for the purposes of this Regulation a reference to globally recognised standards, progress achieved within the International Organization for Standardization should be reported, as part of that assessment, in the Commission’s evaluation of this Regulation.

(16) Attention should be paid not to deviate from the methodological choices of the EN ISO standard, in order to avoid inconsistencies in the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from transport services on the market, especially in the context of international transport chains. However, it is appropriate for the Commission to assess the need for a possible adjustment of the EN ISO standard from the perspective of Union policies, including upcoming legislation. If the Commission’s assessment concludes that an amendment to the standard or a component thereof creates a manifest risk of incompatibility with the objectives of this Regulation or other applicable Union law, in particular with Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, the Commission should adopt the necessary delegated acts, to prohibit the application of that amendment. If that assessment shows a risk that an amendment to the standard or a component thereof could create undue imbalances in calculating greenhouse gas emissions from transport services in specific market segments or lead to discrepancies between that standard and the objectives of this Regulation or those of other applicable Union law, the Commission should be able to adopt the necessary implementing acts, to request the European Committee for Standardization to revise the standard accordingly.

(17) To avoid circulation of inaccurate information on the market, it may be necessary to clarify the common methodology in respect of greenhouse gas emission-relevant parameters and assumptions used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions before a service is provided. The same applies to other relevant technical parameters related to the allocation of greenhouse gas emissions or the aggregation of data elements where the use of those parameters is not explicitly clarified in that common methodology.

(18) Various types of input data, including primary and secondary data, can be used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions from transport services. The use of primary data leads to the most reliable and accurate results, and therefore should be prioritised to provide for the gradual uptake of those primary data in greenhouse gas emissions calculation processes. Primary data might be unattainable or prohibitively expensive for certain stakeholders, especially SMEs. Therefore, the use of secondary data should be allowed under clear conditions. However, in order to get a more accurate greenhouse gas emissions accounting, a Member State should be able to provide that the use of primary data be compulsory for transport operations on its territory by transport and hub entities, the number of employees of which exceeds a specific threshold set by national law, where the transport service starts and ends on its territory. In order not to hamper international transport services and the development of SMEs, Member States should not apply such a requirement to cross-border transport operations, including to transport operations in transit through their territories, or to SMEs.

(19) Without prejudice to State aid rules, Member States should be able to introduce incentives of an administrative, financial or operational nature to stimulate the use of primary data.

(20) Regarding secondary data, greenhouse gas emissions from a transport service can be calculated by using default values or modelled data. Default values should be set, and modelled data should be developed and updated in a neutral and objective manner, based on trusted sources and adequate parameters. Databases should not contain default values that lead to the resulting greenhouse gas emissions being structurally understated as compared to known real-world values of comparable services. In such cases, third-party databases should not receive a positive assessment following the technical quality check.

(21) A core Union database of default values for greenhouse gas emission intensities (‘core Union database’) should be established to improve the comparability of greenhouse gas emission data obtained in the application of this Regulation. That core Union database should provide enough granularity and reflect the sectorial, regional and national specificities across the Union, and should include separate tables for each mode of transport. The Commission should ensure that the core Union database is updated regularly, and should assess on a yearly basis or more frequently the need for updates. The maritime shipping data should be derived from the THETIS-MRV database and complemented, where applicable, with other sources of information, such as the FuelEU database. However, given the sectorial, regional and national specificities of those default values across the Union, other relevant databases and datasets operated by third parties should be allowed on the condition that they undergo a technical quality check at Union level.

(22) When establishing the greenhouse gas emission intensity of a transport service, greenhouse gas emission factors for transport energy carriers are required to derive estimates of greenhouse gas emissions reflecting the amount of energy used in a well-to-wheel perspective. Hence, a central Union database of default values for greenhouse gas emission factors (‘central Union database’) of transport energy carriers should be set up to guarantee the comparability and quality of input data.

(23) A location-based approach should be encouraged when quantifying emissions related to the usage of electricity, provided that updated and accurate emission intensity values are available for the different Member States. Where appropriate and sufficiently developed, a market-based approach could be applied, provided that the conditions set out in Annex J to the EN ISO standard are fulfilled.

(24) The core Union database and the central Union database should, where available and appropriate, include default values agreed by the Union, or in the interest of the Union, at international level. Given the sectorial, regional and national specificities across the Union, the core Union database and the central Union database should reflect vehicle types and transport energy carriers typically used in the Union, in some or all Member States. The core Union database and the central Union database should also reflect the unique features of different Member States.

(25) The development and maintenance of the core Union database and the central Union database, as well as the technical quality check of databases and datasets operated by third parties should be undertaken by a neutral and competent body operating at Union level. Given its remit, the European Environment Agency is best placed to provide the necessary technical assistance for the proper implementation of the relevant provisions of this Regulation. Where necessary, this work should include relying on contributions from, and be supported by, other sectorial Union bodies, in accordance with Union law. Where necessary, Member States should be able to provide the Commission with additional and voluntary input.

(26) It should be possible to use modelled data if they are based on a model established in accordance with the common methodology and, where relevant, other provisions regarding the use of secondary data and calculation tools set out in this Regulation.

(27) Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) and Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) require the collection, measurement, calculation and annual reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from ships and aircraft, respectively. Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and Directive 2003/87/EC are to a certain extent complementary to this Regulation, especially in terms of producing fuel-burned data as an input for quantifying emissions from transport services, for the distance travelled or the amount of cargo carried. It should also be possible to use input data for generating greenhouse gas emissions from transport services that originate from the implementation of other legislative frameworks, such as Regulation (EU) 2019/631 (11), (EU) 2019/1242 (12), (EU) 2023/1805 (13) or (EU) 2023/2405 (14) of the European Parliament and of the Council. Given that it is appropriate to refer to a common standard across all relevant Union legal acts in the field of transport, the Commission should strive to ensure the compatibility and consistency of this Regulation with existing Union legal acts and with future initiatives. In particular, the Commission should strive in forthcoming initiatives and in any secondary legislation to require any greenhouse gas emissions accounting of transport services on a disaggregated manner to be based on the common methodology referred to in this Regulation.

(28) For the purpose of facilitating accurate data collection, subsequent calculations, and the use of primary data by SMEs, the provision of access to in-vehicle data should be considered in the context of any upcoming legislative proposal related to the access to vehicle data.

(29) To facilitate the implementation of this Regulation and to limit the complexity of calculations while reducing administrative and financial burdens, the Commission should provide a simplified, free of charge, publicly accessible and easy-to-use online calculation tool particularly designed for micro, small and medium-sized transport operators. The calculation tool should be developed in line with the common methodology set out in this Regulation, so that its use ensures the correctness of the calculation performed. It should facilitate calculations based on primary data, and should enable the use of relevant secondary data, including greenhouse gas emission factors, and, where available, default values for greenhouse gas emission intensities derived from the databases recognised under this Regulation. It should be accompanied by a manual that helps with the implementation of this Regulation and explains how the calculation tool functions. The calculation tool should be updated periodically. It should address the data gap in the information chain, promote uniform greenhouse gas emissions accounting for the most typical transport services, enhance data transparency and comparability, and contribute to raising awareness and incentivising the uptake of the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to this Regulation.

(30) It is appropriate to lay down common metrics to express greenhouse gas emissions output data that underlie the comparability of those data and allow for effective benchmarking of various transport services. Common metrics should also enable clear communication from a data provider and accurate understanding of that communication by a data recipient.

(31) Any disaggregated information on greenhouse gas emissions from a transport service that is disclosed to a third party for commercial or regulatory purposes in accordance with this Regulation should indispensably and prominently include output data established pursuant to the specific rules for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from transport services set out by this Regulation. Additional data elements, serving other purposes than those defined under this Regulation, can be added, where relevant.

(32) The disclosure of information on greenhouse gas emissions prior to the provision of a transport service is crucial to encourage an informed decision-making process by public bodies, enterprises and consumers, and influences public procurement by public authorities and the business decisions of transport and hub entities providing and organising those transport services on the market. Therefore, information on greenhouse gas emissions related to a specific transport service should be disclosed, whenever possible, prior to the provision of the transport service. However, it should be possible to disclose information on greenhouse gas emissions after the provision of the transport service, particularly where communications between enterprises need to have a more detailed level of information, in particular in the context of logistics chains and subcontracting contract relationships, or for the purpose of using primary data.

(33) To demonstrate compliance with the requirements laid down in this Regulation, transport and hub entities and data intermediaries calculating and disclosing output data on greenhouse gas emissions from a transport service should be able to provide evidence to substantiate the output data. That evidence should be provided pursuant to the rules on reporting at a transport service level set out by the EN ISO standard, and should be made available upon request of a competent authority, such as a court, or another third party if so required under separate legal or contractual obligations.

(34) Unless separate arrangements apply, a data intermediary collecting information on greenhouse gas emissions from a transport service of transport and hub entities or other relevant natural or legal persons, and disclosing it on the market, should not be considered liable if that information breaches any of the requirements laid down in this Regulation related to the calculation and verification of greenhouse gas emissions from transport services and the certification of calculation tools. However, the data intermediary should strive to avoid disclosing inaccurate or incorrect information, and should respect the rules set out in this Regulation related to the greenhouse gas emissions output data, and to communication and transparency. In addition, the data intermediary should provide the source of that information to allow for the identification of the information provider concerned.

(35) External calculation tools that are provided on the market by a third party for broader commercial and non-commercial use can facilitate the greenhouse gas emissions accounting of transport services, thus supporting its uptake by wider groups of stakeholders. External calculation tools should be certified to guarantee that they comply with the requirements of this Regulation, especially as regards the use of the common methodology and an appropriate set of input data.

(36) A properly designed system for verifying the compliance of greenhouse gas emissions output data disclosed on the market and underlying calculation processes with the requirements laid down in this Regulation, should substantially increase trust in the reliability and accuracy of those data. Specifically, it should lay down detailed conditions governing the verification, irrespective of whether a one-off or regular service is concerned, including the appropriate frequency of checks, and procedural arrangements, taking due account of the nature and scale of the transport services concerned and the necessity of avoiding disproportionate administrative burdens. Transport and hub entities and data intermediaries that have successfully undergone the conformity assessment should be entitled to obtain a proof of compliance, to be commonly recognised across the Union. Where primary data were included, the proof of compliance should acknowledge its inclusion, especially to incentivise the collection and use of primary data by any entity concerned by this Regulation. The verification of output data should include the comparability of such output data, including in relation to the calculation of distance, where deviations from the great circle distance and shortest feasible distance should be checked for their consistency with the EN ISO standard.

(37) The administrative burden linked to the verification could be disproportionate for smaller enterprises and it should therefore be avoided. To that end, SMEs should be exempted from the requirements related to the verification, unless those SMEs wish to obtain a proof of compliance. In addition, large enterprises should take into account the principle of proportionality when considering requesting the verification of conformity from value chain partners, in particular from SMEs.

(38) Union legal acts in the transport sector already establish rules on emissions verification requirements, in particular Regulations (EU) 2015/757 and (EU) 2023/1805 for the maritime sector, and Directive 2003/87/EC for the aviation sector. To reduce administrative burdens, verifiers accredited under those acts should be deemed accredited under this Regulation to carry out verification activities in the relevant sector in which they operate, provided they inform the designated national authorities of their intention to carry out such activities also under this Regulation. Conformity assessment bodies should be independent and competent legal entities, accredited by national accreditation bodies established in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15). Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 on the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies applies horizontally, including to verifiers accredited under Regulations (EU) 2015/757 and (EU) 2023/1805 and Directive 2003/87/EC and to conformity assessment bodies accredited under this Regulation. Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 also covers situations where national accreditation bodies have the authority to take appropriate measures if a conformity assessment body is no longer competent to carry out a specific conformity assessment activity or if it has seriously breached its obligations.

(39) Where disaggregated output data on greenhouse gas emissions from transport services have already been verified in accordance with specific rules set out by other Union legal acts, including, for the maritime sector, Regulation (EU) 2015/757 and the delegated acts adopted on the basis thereof or Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 and the delegated acts adopted on the basis thereof, and, for the aviation sector, Directive 2003/87/EC and the implementing acts adopted on the basis thereof, the data in question should be deemed to have been verified pursuant to this Regulation.

(40) In order to allow for the efficient functioning of this Regulation and to supplement it where necessary with additional rules, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of assessing an amendment to the EN ISO standard and, if necessary, prohibiting the application of future amendments, assessing and excluding certain elements of the common methodology, adapting common metrics for output data on greenhouse gas emissions and establishing further methods and criteria for the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (16). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(41) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to lay down detailed provisions concerning requests to the European Committee for Standardization to revise the EN ISO standard, the clarification of the common methodology, the establishment of rules and conditions to conduct the technical quality check of third-party databases, the establishment on the EU calculation tool, the certification of external calculation tools, and the verification of the output data. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (17).

(42) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely incentivising behavioural change by public bodies, enterprises and consumers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport services, through the uptake and use of comparable and reliable greenhouse gas emission data of transport services, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States without risking to introduce administrative obstacles on the internal market which entail additional costs and administrative burden for industries but can rather, by reason of the harmonising effect of the common methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from transport services set out in this Regulation, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,