According to the Act on the management of emissions of greenhouse gases and other substances the National Centre for Emissions Management (KOBiZE) operates within the structure of the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute in Warsaw. KOBiZE was created to carry out commitments resulting from the EU Directives and from the participation in the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS). According to the Polish law KOBiZE is supervised by the Minister of the Environment. One of the basic obligations of KOBiZE is to manage and administer the Polish part of the EU ETS in Poland, including operation of Polish part of the Union Registry. KOBiZE operates the National Database, where data on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and other substances is collected. The Database is a constantly improved tool offering unique information on emission sources, their spatial location and detailed data on operation of every installation covered by the reporting system. It also enables acquiring precise information based on real data, which is submitted by the entities in the process of annual reporting. Due to international and national obligations concerning reporting, one of the important fields of KOBiZE’s activity is the annual preparation of the national emission inventories of greenhouse gases and other substances. KOBiZE elaborates analyses, reports and emission data sheets for the State and local governmental administration, as well as for other interested entities. KOBiZE also provides expert support to the Ministry of the Environment and other interested governmental entities in the field of EU ETS, emissions of greenhouse gases and other substances and some aspects of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as other air protection related conventions ratified by Poland. Important elements of KOBiZE’s every-day duties include constant contacts with the local governments, business organizations and entities to provide information and clarifications in the field covered by the expertise of KOBiZE. KOBiZE also performs tasks concerning preparation of greenhouse gases emission projections, developing methodologies of emission estimations and analyses concerning distribution of emission allowances among the Polish EU ETS participants. Furthermore, KOBiZE organizes systematic trainings on EU ETS and the National Database, in scope of their rules and operation, for interested institutions or business entities.
