IRU welcomes the European Parliament’s adoption of the agreement reached with the Council on the CountEmissionsEU regulation, establishing a common EU approach to emissions calculation for road transport. This marks the effective conclusion of the legislative process.
CountEmissionsEU will introduce a common method for calculating greenhouse gas emissions, based on a global standard, for both freight and passenger transport.
IRU EU Director Raluca Marian said, “The adoption of CountEmissions matters because a common methodology for measuring emissions is the foundation for technology-neutral policymaking, fair competition and credible measured progress towards decarbonisation.”
The final text confirms that only transport companies already reporting emissions, or legally required to do so, are subject to the regulation. It recognises that a mandatory application to all transport and hub entities would lead to excessive costs and burden.
The reference methodology is the EN ISO standard 14083:2023, which sets global rules and principles for emissions calculation based on a well-to-wheel approach, covering emissions from fuel production to use.
Member States may require large transport and hub operators, above a national employee threshold, to use primary emissions data when carrying out purely domestic transport services. This requirement does not apply to cross-border operations, transit movements or SMEs. In these cases, the use of secondary data remains possible. The regulation also allows emissions data already approved under other EU legislation to be reused, without a verification requirement.
SMEs are exempt from the verification requirement for the data they generate, unless they seek proof of compliance with the regulation. The European Commission will develop a free calculation tool, accompanied by a manual, to support implementation, particularly for SMEs.
To improve comparability of emissions data, the Commission, with the technical assistance of the European Environment Agency, will establish two EU-level databases defining default values for greenhouse gas emission intensities and for emission factors of transport energy carriers. Other relevant third-party datasets may be used, subject to a technical quality check at EU level.
Where emissions data are not already compliant with existing EU legislation, a conformity assessment body will be required to verify that the data are reliable, accurate and compliant with the methodology.
The regulation foresees a review four years after it starts applying. This review will assess the administrative burden on operators, the use of primary data and possible future developments, including mandatory emissions disclosure and the extension of the framework to additional environmental impacts such as air pollutants and vehicle life-cycle emissions.
“The next step is implementation,” said Raluca Marian. “Clear guidance and practical tools will be important to support companies in applying the framework, ensuring it does not create administrative burden.”
IRU will continue to engage with EU institutions to support a straightforward implementation of the regulation.