The French Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville, unveiled the France-Mer 2030 plan, aiming to accelerate the decarbonization of maritime with the objective of achieving zero emission ships.
France-Mer 2030 will offer a “one-stop shop for the State dedicated solely to the decarbonization of the maritime sector and to innovation” with the goal of eventually achieving a zero emission ship.
A decarbonization path will have to be defined for each type of fleet, with Mr. Berville insisting on the need to quickly remove “technological barriers” to decarbonize fishing, commercial and recreational vessels.
For this reason, the government plans to launch 300 million euros of public funding by the end of the five-year period but also to “create a maritime investment fund to multiply support through subsidies, equity investments and guarantees.”
This mechanism will have to go hand in hand with the use of private funds, which could lead to a total of one billion euros of investment.
In the same spirit, the CEO of CMA CGM, Rodolphe Saadé announced that the French shipowner will “provide the new France-Mer fund with a budget of 200 million euros to help the maritime sector to decarbonize.”
“It’s not just about freight, but about everything related to the maritime industry in France,” Mr. Saadé said. CMA CGM will launch a call for projects platform in January 2023.
