EFTA Surveillance Authority

07/21/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/21/2021 03:27

ESA adopts annual emissions budgets for Iceland and Norway under the Effort Sharing Regulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has today adopted a decision setting out the annual emission allocations (AEAs) for Iceland and Norway for 2021-2030 under the Effort Sharing Regulation. This is an important step in ensuring that Iceland and Norway take the right path towards achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030 in the sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

The Effort Sharing Regulation sets binding targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for Iceland, Norway and the EU Member States for 2030. This applies to sectors that are not part of the ETS, including transport, buildings, agriculture, non-ETS industry and waste.

ESA's decision today follows the incorporation of relevant legislation into the EEA Agreement, and translates the 2030 reduction targets into binding annual emissions budgets for the years 2021-2030. The annual emission targets are set in tonnes of CO2 equivalent for each year along a linear trajectory between 2021 and 2030.

As required by the Effort Sharing Regulation, the decision includes the 2005 greenhouse gas emissions values for Iceland and Norway, which are used to determine their annual emission allocations for 2021-2030. It also defines the margin of flexibility allowed for Iceland and Norway in order to comply with the Effort Sharing Regulation between 2021 and 2030, following a reduction of ETS emissions allowances.

In preparing the decision and calculating the AEAs, ESA has worked in close consultation with Iceland, Norway and the European Commission. The preparatory work included a comprehensive review in 2020 of the States' greenhouse gas emissions, coordinated by the European Environment Agency.

You can read ESA's decision here.