Advancing Emissions Transparency To Support The Decarbonization Of Mineral And Industrial Supply Chains

Meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change requires bold action from public and private stakeholders. The European Union (EU) –– given its large market, progressive actors, ambitious policy leadership, and commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050––will play a pivotal role in enabling the low-carbon transition. EU policy instruments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions include the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), the framework to facilitate sustainable investment (EU Taxonomy), and the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) under consideration as part of the European Green Deal.

These instruments require EU corporations to measure their GHG emissions against the EU ETS product benchmarks, first adopted by the European Commission in 2011 after private sector consultations and based on data provided by the industry on a voluntary basis. These 54 product benchmarks, expressed in terms of GHG emission intensity—metric tons of CO2-equivalent emitted per metric ton of product produced—represent “the average performance of the 10% most efficient installations in a sector or subsector in the [EU] in the years 2007–2008,” and cover around 75% of EU ETS emissions. The benchmarks are accompanied by guidance on emissions accounting.