- ESPO has urged the European Commission to use the upcoming review of the maritime EU ETS to address carbon leakage, business leakage and competitive distortions affecting EU ports and short-sea shipping.
- According to ESPO, the current system is encouraging cargo diversion to non-EU ports, reducing direct connectivity and shifting investment towards neighbouring countries outside the EU.
- The organisation warns that some short-sea shipping services are already losing traffic to road transport, which remains outside the ETS until 2028.
- ESPO is calling for measures to restore a level playing field, including changes to the treatment of transhipment ports and greater recognition of the impact on peripheral and outermost regions.
- The ports association also wants a larger share of ETS revenues reinvested in maritime and port decarbonisation projects.
- ESPO stresses that it supports the EU’s climate objectives but argues that the current ETS framework is undermining both competitiveness and the effectiveness of decarbonisation efforts.
https://www.espo.be/news/eu-ets-review-last-call-from-europes-ports-to-restore-the-level-playing-field-and-stop-business-leakage
