The Transport Committee of the European Parliament adopted the Delli Report on more efficient and cleaner maritime transport, which calls on the Commission, among others, to address the carbon intensity of fuels under the FuelEU Maritime initiative.
The European Commission launched the initiative earlier in February, aiming to increase the use of sustainable alternative fuels in European shipping and ports, as part of its efforts to drive decarbonization and sustainability within the industry.
The Delli Report, which was adopted by parliament on Thursday, actually calls on the Commission to address under the FuelEU Maritime initiative, not only the carbon intensity of fuels, but also the technical and operational measures, which would improve the efficiency of ships and their operations. It also underlines the important role of short sea shipping in achieving modal shift objectives and reducing transport-related congestion and emissions to move towards zero-emission transport.
On this occasion, EU shipowners welcomed the call of the Transport Committee of the European Parliament for a comprehensive approach under the upcoming FuelEU Maritime proposal. This follows a call by ECSA earlier in the month, noting that a fuel standard as a requirement for ships, instead of fuel suppliers, under the FuelEU Maritime proposal, would risk failing to deliver on emissions reductions and would be challenging to enforce.
A fuel standard addressing ships instead the fuel suppliers will be hard to enforce and may not deliver its environmental objectives. Our proposal is that the contemplated measure should either take the form a fuel standard on the fuel suppliers or that of an efficiency standard covering the overall energy performance of ships. On scrubbers, it is a positive development that the Report makes a clear reference to the IMO work and that any measures should be in line with the IMO framework and the MARPOL Convention,
…explained Martin Dorsman, ECSA Secretary-General.
Among others, the European Parliament’s Report also embraces a holistic approach by addressing the role of the entire maritime cluster, including ports and energy suppliers. It highlights the positive contribution of digitalisation, automation and port call optimization in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal.
The Delli Report further underlines the need to fulfil the investment commitments under the TEN-T, as well as to boost access to funding under Motorways of the Sea through simplified criteria. In addition, it encourages the Commission to establish a network to exchange good practices on how to adapt the workforce to the new needs of the sector.
ECSA has a strong opinion that there is no sufficient basis for questioning the effectiveness of the EU Maritime State Aid Guidelines or implementing changes in the EU approach. The EU state aid guidelines continue to provide a level playing field for European shipowners, without which European shipowners are not able to compete internationally.
