European Shipowners have strongly welcomed the recognition of shipping under the five sectors across which the European Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal should be implemented.
The Association of European Shipowners (ECSA) says that ensuring targeted investment in the production, distribution, and uptake of sustainable maritime fuels under the upcoming Sustainable Transport Investment Plan is crucial to meeting the sector’s decarbonisation targets while safeguarding the competitiveness of European shipping.
ECSA believes that a key action will be to implement the Commission’s commitment and reduce the reporting burden by at least 25% for all companies and at least 35% for SMEs, which are the backbone of the European shipping industry. In this regard, the first simplification package (omnibus package), is considered a good step forward. The revision of Taxonomy should make its sustainability criteria fit for purpose for the shipping sector.
The next simplification packages should consider the progress made and the implementation of the IMO GHG Strategy with the aim to align EU legislation and ensure an international level playing field. The launch of a new mechanism under the European Hydrogen Bank to de-risk investments in fuels for shipping is another positive development. Leveraging EU and national ETS revenues is essential to build industrial capacity in Europe and to bridge the immense price gap between conventional and clean fuels that can be up to five times more expensive. In this regard, grants- and auctions-as-a-Service mechanisms can help pool national ETS revenues to support these objectives.
Sotiris Raptis, ECSA Secretary General, said: “The Clean Industrial Deal recognises competitiveness and decarbonisation as a security imperative. We strongly welcome the recognition of shipping as one of the priority sectors of the Clean Industrial Deal. Shipping is a cornerstone of Europe’s energy and supply chain security and in the frontline of the energy transition. This is the time for urgent action to make the necessary investments in clean tech and fuels, to maintain the international competitiveness of our industry and to enhance the security of our continent. EU member states must use the €9bn of the shipping ETS revenues to support the production of clean fuels. We also urge the Commission to cut red tape and ensure an international level playing field.”
Image: ECSA represents 22 national shipowners’ associations (source: ECSA)
