The European Community submits its initial report under the Kyoto Protocol

The report sets ‘the assigned amount’ for the EU-15 to 19 682 548 287 tonnes of CO₂-equivalents.This figure corresponds to the EU-15 target of reducing emissions by 8 % under the Kyoto Protocol. The assigned amount is the maximum quantity of greenhouse gas emissions the EU-15 can emit during the period from 2008-2012 under the Kyoto Protocol. For any emissions exceeding the assigned amount, allowances from other countries need to be purchased.

The report will be subject to UNFCCC review in 2007. This review will decide if the European Community may be allowed to participate in the Kyoto mechanisms: Joint Implementations, Clean Development Mechanism and International Emission trading. Use of Kyoto mechanisms is necessary for the European Community to reach its Kyoto targets.

The report also includes a fully updated greenhouse gas inventory for EU-15, which shows that greenhouse gas emissions in 2004 have decreased by 1.2 % compared to base year emissions used (normally 1990). This is a slight improvement of the trend in greenhouse gas emissions compared to that presented in the annual European Community greenhouse gas inventory released in June 2006. The change is due to Member States’ recalculations of base year emissions

Report:
The European Community's initial report under the Kyoto Protocol

Summary report from The European Commission:
Assigned Amount Report of the European Union

Related reports:
Annual European Community greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2004 and inventory report 2006
Greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe 2006