European Union has welcomed the political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council that mandates maritime transport to contribute to reducing net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU by at least 55 percent by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
The Fuel EU Maritime agreement sets out a progressive plan for reducing the GHG intensity of fuels used by vessels, starting at 2 percent in 2025, and reaching 80 percent by 2050.
It also incorporates shipping emission levels into the EU ETS – an emission cap-and-trade system where a limited amount of emission allowances – the cap – is put on the market and can be traded, effective as of December 18, 2022.
It is said that waterborne transport accounted for 3-4 percent of total CO2 emissions in 2021 and is anticipated to grow with increased primary resource and container transport needs.
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This mandate takes a goal-based, technology-neutral approach, considering not only CO2 but also methane and nitrous oxide emissions over their entire lifespan.
It also requires zero-emission operations at berth through onshore power supply or other alternative zero-emission technologies.
This encourages using renewable fuels with high decarbonisation potential while providing legal clarity for operators and producers and helping to stabilise market prices for fossil fuels versus green alternatives.
The agreement will be officially adopted soon and published in the official journal of the EU before taking effect 20 days later.
