European Shipowners (ECSA) is asking the European Commission to scale up the sector’s decarbonisation by using the EU and national ETS revenues for investment in making sustainable fuels and technologies available for transport.
In this move, ECSA is joining with Airlines 4 Europe (A4E), noting that shipping and aviation together already contribute over €11bn to the EU ETS revenues annually. As a priority, this money must be channelled into de-risking investment in sustainable marine and aviation fuels that are today on average four times more expensive for shipping and between three and six times more expensive for aviation than conventional fuels. Bridging the price gap between sustainable and conventional fuels is seen as key to increasing their availability on the market. The European Commission should require EU Member States to earmark at least part of their ETS revenues for the uptake and availability of sustainable fuels for shipping and aviation, and to incentivise them to top up any existing EU mechanisms with national ETS revenues.
Sotiris Raptis, ECSA Secretary General, said: “European shipowners are leading global investments in sustainable fuel-powered vessels, with 44% of the global orderbook, but Europe’s fuel availability is not keeping pace. Asia leads with 74% of fuel production projects, while Europe accounts for just 10%. Less than 5% of European sustainable fuel production is currently intended for maritime use. Shipping contributes around €9bn to the EU ETS. This money should be used at EU and national level to bridge the price gap and support sustainable fuel availability and clean tech projects. This is key for the energy transition of the sector and for the energy security of the continent.”
