National Climate Commission approval procedure

Cooperation agreement

The approval procedure of project activities coming under the authority of the National Climate Commission, is described in section 3 (Art. 7 – Art. 10) of the cooperation agreement.

Approval criteria

The National Climate Commission approves no project activities unless they meet the following minimum criteria:

1. the project activity contributes significantly to the achievement of the sustainable development objectives of the proposed host country;
2. the intended project activity is not financed by means of official development aid, in the framework of the rules established within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and in accordance with the decisions of the Executive Board, established under Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, and of the Supervising Committee, established under Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol;
3. participation of persons to a project activity must be in line with the relevant guidelines, conditions of implementation and procedures pursuant to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol;
4. the intended project activity has no impact on Belgium’s ability to meet its commitments, made in the framework of other international agreements, in particular for the preservation of biodiversity, the fight against desertification and the depletion of the ozone layer;
5. the intended project activity does not significantly harm, neither directly nor indirectly, the environment or the health of the population of another State than the country in which its implementation is planned;
6. the intended project activity must not harm Belgium’s interests in the framework of its diplomatic or military interventions;
7. for each JI project activity the baselines and the monitoring plan shall be determined in accordance with the guidelines and implementing orders of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol and they are verified by an accredited independent entity. For project activities considered on European Union territory or in countries which have signed a treaty of accession with the European Union, the baselines shall fully comply with the acquis communautaire, including temporary exemptions set out in that treaty of accession;
8. project activities for hydroelectric power production with a generating capacity exceeding 20 MW shall comply with relevant international standards and guidelines, including those contained in the World Commission on Dams report published in 2000: “Dams and Development- A new Framework for Decision-Making".

Approval procedure

• Application submission

Anyone wishing to execute a project activity which comes under the authority of the National Climate Commission shall submit an application for approval to the National Climate Commission.

The rules for submission of the approval application, the contents of the application as well as the documents to be enclosed, were fixed by the National Climate Commission.

The documents shall be drawn up in Dutch, French or English. If this is not the case, a translation in one of these languages by a sworn translator shall be enclosed.

An application for approval of a project activity shall be submitted both in electronic and in written form to the Permanent Secretariat of the National Climate Commission:

FAO Bart Naessens

Permanent Secretariaat Nationale Klimaatcommissie

Vlaams Overheid

Departement Leefmilieu, Natuur en Energie

Afdeling Lucht, Hinder, Risicobeheer, Milieu & Gezondheid

Koning Albert II-laan 20 bus 8

1000 Brussel

The applicant shall pay a fee of 364 euros for each application for approval of a project activity. This fee shall be paid by bank transfer to the account number of the National Climate Commission.

In case the National Climate Commission has not received the fee at the time of receipt of the project activity approval application, the National Climate Commission shall fix a deadline for payment and notify it to the applicant. If the fee is not paid before the deadline expires, the project activity approval application will not be treated.

CDM project activity

An application for approval of a CDM project activity shall include at least the following documents:

1. the project design document of the project activity, as made publicly available through the UNFCCC secretariat;
2. a declaration by the applicant that participation in the project activity is in accordance with the relevant guidelines, conditions of implementation and procedures pursuant to the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the relevant Belgian regulation. This declaration shall be drawn up using the form provided to that end by the National Climate Commission;
3. the letter of approval issued by the designated national authority of the host country;
4. the validation report of the project activity, as made publicly available through the UNFCCC secretariat or, if the report is not yet publicly available, a provisional version thereof;
5. a copy of a valid proof of identification if the applicant is a natural person; the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises identification number or, in the absence thereof, an extract from a trade register or an equivalent document if the applicant is a legal person;
6. a written declaration by all project participants confirming that the applicant will be added to the list of project participants in the project design document, if the applicant is not included as a project participant in the project design document.

JI ‘track 1’ project activity

An application for approval of a JI ‘track 1’ project activity shall include at least the following documents:

1. the letter of approval issued by the focal point of the host country;
2. the documentation which forms the basis of the approval of the JI project activity by the host country in accordance with the relevant national guidelines of the host country;
3. a declaration by the applicant that participation in the project activity is in accordance with the relevant guidelines, conditions of implementation and procedures pursuant to the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the relevant Belgian regulation. This declaration shall be drawn up using the form provided to that end by the National Climate Commission;
4. a copy of a valid proof of identification if the applicant is a natural person; the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises identification number or, in the absence thereof, an extract from a trade register or an equivalent document if the applicant is a legal person;
5. a written declaration by all project participants stating their agreement that the applicant become a project participant, if the applicant has not yet been authorised to participate in the JI project activity.

JI ‘track 2’ project activity

An application for approval of a JI ‘track 2’ project activity shall include at least the following documents:

1. the project design document as made publicly available through the UNFCCC secretariat;
2. a declaration by the applicant that participation in the project activity is in accordance with the relevant guidelines, conditions of implementation and procedures pursuant to the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the relevant Belgian regulation. This declaration shall be drawn up using the form provided to that end by the National Climate Commission;
3. the letter of approval issued by the focal point of the host country;
4. the determination report of the project activity, as made publicly available through the UNFCCC secretariat or, if the report is not yet available, a provisional version thereof;
5. a copy of a valid proof of identification if the applicant is a natural person; the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises identification number or, in the absence thereof, an extract from a trade register or an equivalent document if the applicant is a legal person;
6. a written declaration by all project participants confirming that the applicant will be added to the list of project participants in the project design document, if the applicant is not included as a project participant in the project design document.

•  Application handling procedure

The handling procedure for the approval application is as follows:

1. the permanent Secretariat of the National Climate Commission confirms receipt of the application for approval and notifies the procedure deadlines to the applicant;
2. the National Climate Commission checks the completeness of the application for approval. If the Commission considers that all necessary elements are available in order to take a decision, it so informs the applicant and begins the handling procedure. The Commission may at any time ask the applicant for additional information or such documents as it deems useful to handle the application, in which case the deadline is extended by two months.

The National Climate Commission takes a decision within a period of four months after notification. In the absence of a decision within the above-mentioned period, the project activity shall be deemed to be approved.

If the National Climate Commission rejects the project activity, it incorporates the reasons for the rejection in her decision. The permanent Secretariat notifies the applicant of that decision by registered letter against receipt.

The decision of the National Climate Commission is an individual decision, against which an action for annulment can be lodged with the Council of State within sixty days from its date of notification.