The Council of the European Union (EU) and the European Parliament (EP) have reached a political agreement on a common methodology for all 27 member states to calculate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the transport sector.
The agreement, reached on Wednesday evening, provides a single EU-wide methodology for calculating GHG emissions from transport services, for passengers and goods.
According to the preliminary agreement, the new rules will facilitate the comparison of the environmental performance of the different modes of transport across the EU, helping consumers and businesses make informed choices and reduce the risk of greenwashing.
The new rules will not obligate transport companies to calculate their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but if they opt to do so—for example, for data reporting, contractual or marketing purposes, or when required by other EU rules—they will be obliged to apply the European Union’s common methodology.
In a statement, the EU Council indicated that “the reference methodology will be EN ISO 14083:2023, which establishes common rules and principles for calculating emissions globally for transport operations, based on the well-to-wheel principle,”
The fundamental principle of the methodology is to account for emissions resulting from the use of vehicles and the provision of energy during transport operations. To strengthen accuracy, the agreement prioritizes the use of primary data over estimates or default GHG emission values, while also providing incentives for operators who measure their emissions directly.
To reduce the administrative and financial burden on companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a public, simple and free calculation tool will be developed, accompanied by a user manual. The Commission has four years to develop this tool.
The agreement in principle will still need to be formally validated by the Member States and the Members of the European Parliament.
