A New Step Toward Stronger Assurance
The latest explanatory guidance for the Accreditation and Verification Regulation issued in November 2025 introduces clearer expectations for how emissions data must be monitored, checked and reported under the EU ETS. The update responds to recent amendments in related legislation and aims to make the verification landscape more consistent across sectors.
At its core, the guidance reinforces the idea that verification is not simply a compliance exercise. It is a confidence building mechanism. By strengthening the rules around independence, competence and documentation, the guidance helps ensure that reported emissions genuinely reflect what occurs on the ground.
Professionals working across transport and energy systems will notice that the document again emphasises robust risk analysis. Verifiers must now demonstrate even more clearly how they assess inherent and control risks before designing their verification plans. The guidance also brings renewed attention to materiality, making the threshold for what counts as a significant reporting issue both clearer and easier to apply in practice.
What This Means for Operators
Operators will benefit from more predictable expectations. The structured approach to strategic analysis, site visits, testing of controls and data sampling means reporting teams can prepare with greater certainty. Smaller installations also receive clarity on when simplified approaches may be used, reducing administrative effort without weakening the integrity of results.
The guidance makes it evident that accurate reporting will increasingly depend on well designed data flows and a culture of continual improvement. These themes resonate strongly with sustainability specialists who are already working to strengthen monitoring systems within aviation, maritime and road transport operations. Experienced advisors in the transport sustainability field can play an important role in helping organisations interpret these expectations and ensure their systems are future ready.
Conclusion
The November 2025 update strengthens the foundations of assurance within the EU ETS. It promotes clearer roles, better documentation and stronger risk based decision making. For organisations seeking to demonstrate credible climate performance, the guidance is both a roadmap and an invitation to refine their internal processes in a way that supports long term trust and transparency.
Download Document File Here: AVR Explanatory Guidance (EGD I), Version of November 2025