Greece has told the European Commission that adding the industry to its carbon emissions trading scheme should be proportionate and tightly enforced.
More specifically, in a letter sent to Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that countries should also get back the revenue raised by the costs their ships would pay and that money should be spent on decarbonising maritime transport.
According to Reuters, Mitsotakis urged Brussels to “engage at the earliest with the Greek authorities and with the shipping community, in order to find realistic and constructive solutions.”
This summer, the EU proposed including shipping in the EU carbon market for the first time. According to the EU plan, shipping would be added to the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) gradually from 2023 and phased in over a three-year period.
After that, ship owners will have to buy permits under the ETS when their ships pollute or else face possible bans from EU ports.
According to the Commission, the carbon market would apply to ships sailing within the European Union and 50% of emissions from international voyages starting and ending in the bloc.
Now, EU countries are preparing to negotiate the EU’s package of new green policies, which they and European Parliament must both approve.
