Thursday, September 10th, 2026
Europe has taken an important step towards making greenhouse gas emissions from transport services more comparable, transparent and trustworthy. Regulation (EU) 2026/1030, commonly referred to as CountEmissionsEU, establishes a harmonised European framework for calculating and disclosing transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.
The Regulation was adopted on 29 April 2026 and entered into force on 1 June 2026. Most substantive obligations will apply from 2 December 2030, but implementation has already begun. Over the coming years, the supporting databases, calculation tools, certification, verification and accreditation framework will need to be established.
To support the logistics community in understanding and preparing for these changes, ALICE has published the executive report “CountEmissionsEU: Implications of Regulation (EU) 2026/1030 for transport and logistics”, outlining the main implications for carriers, logistics service providers, freight forwarders, transport organisers, hub operators, shippers, data intermediaries and providers of emissions calculation tools and databases.
CountEmissionsEU does not generally require every company to calculate or publish the emissions of every transport service. However, whenever disaggregated greenhouse gas emissions from a transport service are calculated and disclosed within its scope – voluntarily, contractually, commercially or because disclosure is required by applicable legislation – the common framework must be followed.
At the centre of this framework is EN ISO 14083:2023, which becomes the common methodology for calculations covered by the Regulation. It follows a well-to-wheel approach, covering emissions associated with energy provision and vehicle use during transport and hub operations. Organisations already calculating transport emissions should therefore review whether their existing methodologies and systems comply with both EN ISO 14083 and the Regulation’s additional requirements.
One of the most significant practical implications concerns data. CountEmissionsEU requires transport and hub entities and data intermediaries to prioritise primary data. Carriers and hubs are closest to information on fuel and energy consumption, distances, loads and operations, while logistics service providers, freight forwarders and shippers will increasingly depend on structured access to this information across subcontracting and multimodal transport chains.
Secondary and modelled data remain possible where primary information is unavailable or disproportionately costly, but the sources used will become more controlled. The Regulation introduces a Central Union Database, due by June 2028, providing emission factors for transport energy carriers, and a Core Union Database, due by December 2029, providing default greenhouse gas emission intensities. Third-party databases will remain possible but will be subject to an EU-level technical quality assessment.
For logistics chains involving multiple companies, modes and subcontractors, implementation will therefore depend not only on having a common calculation methodology, but also on the ability to access, exchange and trust emissions-related data.
CountEmissionsEU also introduces new quality requirements for emissions calculation tools. By June 2030, the European Commission must provide a free and simplified EU calculation tool, particularly supporting micro, small and medium-sized transport operators. External commercial and non-commercial tools can continue to be used, but they will need certification by an accredited conformity assessment body and will be included in a Commission list.
Verification will provide another layer of confidence and comparability. For non-SME transport and hub entities and data intermediaries calculating emissions within the relevant scope, compliance of output data must be verified by an accredited conformity assessment body. SMEs are exempt from mandatory verification but may request it voluntarily. Verification covers areas including the methodology, input-data sources, calculation correctness and common metrics.
Together, these measures create a more structured environment in which the methodology, data, calculation tools and resulting emissions information can be assessed against common requirements.
Although CountEmissionsEU becomes generally applicable in December 2030, the implementation period is already underway. For carriers and hubs, preparation means strengthening service-level operational data collection. Logistics service providers and freight forwarders should consider how emissions information can move consistently through subcontracted chains, while shippers need to understand the methodology and transparency behind the emissions information they request, use and disclose.
The Regulation also provides proportional support for SMEs through the verification exemption, free access to the Union databases and the future EU calculation tool and multilingual implementation manual.
CountEmissionsEU creates a common foundation for transport emissions accounting, but its impact will ultimately depend on how effectively it can be implemented across real logistics chains. Primary operational data, trusted emission factors, interoperable systems, certified tools and credible verification will all need to work together across organisations and transport modes.
This is directly connected to ALICE’s work on logistics decarbonisation and greenhouse gas emissions measurement and reporting through Thematic Group 1 – Efficient and Low Emission Assets and Energy, as well as ALICE’s Policy Monitoring activities. The implementation of CountEmissionsEU is also closely linked to the CLEVER project, which addresses the harmonisation and reliability of greenhouse gas emission factors for transport.
The new ALICE report provides a practical reference for logistics stakeholders to understand the Regulation, its key implementation milestones and the preparations needed between now and 2030. It also highlights the current scope of the framework: CountEmissionsEU follows a well-to-wheel approach and does not yet require full life-cycle emissions from vehicle manufacturing, maintenance and disposal or transport infrastructure.
Read the full report: CountEmissionsEU – Implications of Regulation (EU) 2026/1030 for transport and logistics.
The report was prepared by ALICE with funding from the CLEVER project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101146908.