Emission permit and emission report

If your business emits greenhouse gases or nitrogen oxides, and your business falls under the Environmental Management Act (Wet milieubeheer), you will need an emission permit from the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEa). The permit states that you are allowed to emit these gases and that you are allowed to trade in emission rights. Emission rights indicate the amounts of CO2 and NOx that you are allowed to emit. These rights are awarded annually.

Emission report

If you have an emission permit, you must submit an emission report to the NEa by no later than 31 March of each year. You must have the emission data from your emission report included in the CO2 Emissions Trading Register (Register CO2-emissiehandel) or the NOx Emissions Trading Register (NOx-emissiehandel). Your verifier will confirm digitally that your emission data has been included in the relevant register.

Verification

Organisations that have been accredited by the verification body for emissions trading – Dutch Accreditation Council (Raad voor Accreditatie, RvA) – are authorised to verify emission reports. Verification takes place in accordance with the lines, requirements and procedures laid down in a verification protocol.

You may engage a verifier who is accredited abroad, provided they meet the same requirements as RvA-accredited verifiers. The RvA will assess whether this verifier has sufficient knowledge and will monitor the verification process.