- Council of the EU
- Press release
- 5 November 2025 23:05
A provisional agreement reached today by the Council and the European Parliament on the CountEmissionsEU proposal will ensure better comparability of data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of passenger and freight transport, by setting out a single method for calculating these emissions.
Thanks to this agreement, citizens and businesses will have a clearer view on the greenhouse gas emissions emitted by the transport services they use. This will also benefit transport operators, as they now will be able to account for their emissions based on this single, globally har…
- Council of the EU
- Press release
- 5 November 2025 23:05
A provisional agreement reached today by the Council and the European Parliament on the CountEmissionsEU proposal will ensure better comparability of data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of passenger and freight transport, by setting out a single method for calculating these emissions.
Thanks to this agreement, citizens and businesses will have a clearer view on the greenhouse gas emissions emitted by the transport services they use. This will also benefit transport operators, as they now will be able to account for their emissions based on this single, globally harmonised standard.
Thomas Danielsen, Minister for Transport of Denmark
Today, many transport services measure their GHG emissions, but they are often requested to use different methods. Therefore, the accounting of GHG emissions can be a complex task for transport operators. For consumers, it can be hard to know which service is truly greener.
The agreement reached today introduces a common method for calculating greenhouse gas emissions, based on a global standard, both for freight and passenger transport services. The reference methodology used will be EN ISO standard 14083:2023. This ISO standard sets global common rules and emission calculation principles for transport operations based on the well-to-wheel principle. This principle considers all GHG emissions generated during the entire process of fuel production, from extraction to its use by the transport service.
Publishing information on GHG emissions by freight and passenger transport services will remain voluntary, but if a company decides or is asked to calculate and disclose information on its GHG emissions, it will need to use the methodology provided.
To avoid unnecessary administrative burden, the agreed single framework will be easy for transport operators to use. To that end, data on GHG emissions that has already been approved for use under other existing EU legislation, can also be reused under CountEmissionsEU.
Finally, special attention has also been paid to SMEs with measures aimed at supporting and facilitating their implementation of the regulation. The Commission will be tasked to develop a calculation tool, particularly designed to support SMEs, that can be used free of charge, and which will be accompanied by a manual.
Next steps
This provisional agreement will now need to be endorsed by the member states’ representatives within the Council (Coreper) and by the European Parliament. It will then be formally adopted by both institutions following legal-linguistic revision.
Background
Freight transport is essential to the EU’s single market, as it allows goods needed in daily life to be transported. Therefore, it fuels the EU’s economy by supporting both trade and supply chains, creating millions of jobs.
Freight transport has however a big impact on the EU’s overall CO2 emissions, as around 30% of all transport emissions stems from freight transport. The green freight package, proposed in July 2023, aims at reducing this environmental footprint.
One of the proposals of the package is CountEmissionsEU, which aims at providing a common method for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from both passenger and freight transport services. Other proposals include a directive on the weights and dimensions for heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) and a regulation on a more efficient use of railway capacity. On December 4th 2023, the Council agreed on its common position on CountEmissionsEU, followed by the European Parliament one year later. In July 2025, co-legislators started negotiations, with today’s provisional agreement as its outcome.
- Green freight package: Council adopts its position on the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services (press release, 4 December 2023)
- Regulation on the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services, Council’s general approach, 4 December 2023
- Regulation on the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services, Commission’s proposal, 12 July 2023
- Climate change: what the EU is doing (background information)
- ISO standard 14083:2023
Last review: 5 November 2025