European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) recently expressed its support concerning the idea of helping private investors prioritize green and sustainable investments by providing them a clear manual with common definitions.
In light of the above, ESPO requested the Commission to respect the sustainability requirements and funding priorities put forward in sectoral legislation, when using the EU taxonomy framework as a basis for public funding and financing instruments.
ESPO recognises the added value of technical screening criteria to assist investors to promote and facilitate sustainable investments. ESPO pleads in that case for technology neutral definitions of sustainable economic activities and investments and asks to include transitional and enabling activities, which provide short- and medium-term solutions on the path towards climate-neutrality.
Furthermore, ESPO strongly advocates that the delegated acts which will prescribe the technical screening criteria are developed in a fully transparent way in close cooperation and consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
“Ports fully subscribe to the Green Deal ambitions and are ready to be a partner in the implementation. European Ports invest both in infrastructure and instruments to facilitate the greening and decarbonisation of the port and its stakeholders.
But, at the same time, ports are investing to develop new activities which in themselves will contribute to implement the Green Deal agenda: circular economy and carbon capture and storage projects are good examples of this.
We therefore hope that the clear priorities set out in EU funding mechanisms, such as the Connecting Europe Facility, remain valid and are not overruled by the taxonomy framework. Secondly, we must hope the taxonomy’s screening criteria are not curtailing the ports’ decarbonisation paths or ignoring the positive effects of clustering transport, energy and industry” …ESPO’s Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost, concluded.