ETS Shipping (2): Europe’s ports call for early and robust action to prevent evasion

By | 2023 Newsletter week 16 | No Comments

ESPO welcomes the inclusion of maritime in the EU ETS1 as part of decarbonising shipping. Europe’s ports have consistently called for an ambitious maritime EU ETS that makes the green transition of maritime possible, whilst protecting the competitiveness of European ports.

Whilst ESPO welcomes that a price tag is being put on the emissions produced by ships, the geographical scope of the EU ETS Maritime agreement could still lead to evasive port calls where shipping companies can avoid paying into the ETS by adding a call to a port outside the EU, or by reconfiguring their routes.

ESPO welcomes the agreement on FuelEU Maritime to reduce emissions from shipping during navigation and at berth

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“We are pleased that for the first time there is an agreement on the greening ambitions for shipping, both during navigation and at berth. The requirements for ships when to use of electricity at berth, will hopefully break the chicken and egg discussion,” says ESPO’s Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost.

“We hope however that the flexibility given to shipping lines to decide their own greening path, will also be mirrored in the upcoming agreement on AFIR (*). There is no time and no money to lose, for shipping lines nor for ports. Reducing emissions, fast and efficient, should be the main ambition. We hope the AFIR is also giving some flexibility to ports to prioritise investments in onshore power in ports where it makes the most sense.”

(*) AFIR Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation

Zeno d’Agostino elected as chair of ESPO

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ESPO’s General Assembly unanimously elected Zeno D’Agostino as its new Chair.

Mr D’Agostino is President of Port Network Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea since 2015 and has a long-standing career in transport and logistics. He succeeds Annaleena Mäkilä who chaired the organisation during the last two years.

The General Assembly also re-elected Daan Schalck, CEO of North Sea Port as Vice Chair.

Ansis Zeltiņš, CEO of the Port of Riga, becomes the second Vice Chair.

ETS maritime should be workable and consistent avoiding carbon and business leakage

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FEPORT, ETA and ESPO, representing European ports, private port companies and terminal operators and tugowners support an effective and robust maritime EU ETS that enables the green transition of the maritime sector.

The three associations recognise and reiterate the need for the shipping sector to reduce emissions. It is for this reason that they support requirements for ships to reduce emissions, alongside requirements for the use and deployment of OPS where it makes sense in ports.

In relation to the EU ETS, they have the following three recommendations that should be taken into consideration in order to deliver an ambitious, robust, and effective emission trading system:

 

  1. Prevent evasion by ships from the EU ETS that would create carbon and business leakage.
  2. Earmark the revenues generated by a maritime EU ETS for investments in maritime and ports, especially in port infrastructure.
  3. Maintain the size threshold for vessels covered by the EU ETS as proposed by the European Commission (5000GT) to achieve ambitious and workable legislation.

The three are committed to facilitating the greening of shipping and will continue to support the discussions on the maritime aspects of the Fit for 55-package in order to deliver an ambitious, coherent and workable legislative framework.

Europe’s ports welcome the EP adoption of a maritime ETS that addresses the issue of carbon and business leakage

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On 22 June the European Parliament adopted its position on the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS), which includes an expansion of the ETS to include shipping emissions. ESPO welcomes the EP position that outlines an ambitious and robust ETS that includes measures to address, and if possible, avoid carbon and business leakage. ESPO also welcomes that the EP position includes earmarking of revenues for investments in ports and maritime.

In order for a regional ETS in the EU to be effective and aligned with the polluter pays principle, carbon leakage through rerouting of ships outside of the ETS scope must be avoided at all costs. If this is not addressed in the final legislation, the ETS would fail to effectively reduce emissions from ships whilst also producing a negative impact on the European port business.

European ports therefore strongly support the measures adopted by European Parliament making it less attractive for ships to change their routes, divert calls, or engage in other evasive behaviours in order to avoid paying into the EU ETS.

ESPO believes that the EP position provides a good basis to address carbon and business leakage in the ETS. The preventative measures included in the EP position should be included in the final ETS to be agreed between European Parliament and EU Member States.

European ports and Interferry agree priorities for sustainable future

By | 2022 Newsletter week 21 | No Comments

A meeting between ESPO and Interferry has agreed a common work programme to promote an environmentally sustainable future for the European ferry business through the provision and use of onshore power supply (OPS).

  1. Ferries must be recognised as a sustainable passenger transport mode.
  2. Ferry ports should act as soon as possible to deploy OPS, and ferry lines should commit to using OPS whenever it is available.
  3. Investments should initially be made where it makes most sense in terms of maximising emissions reductions per installation.
  4. Both ports and ferries call for a coherent and predictable framework that provides legal certainty for stakeholders.
  5. Huge investments require funding
  6. New fuels and technologies for greening the shipping industry should be encouraged and promoted, alongside development of the relevant safety and operational standards.

EU-wide tax exemption for electricity provided to ships at berth.

ESPO asks for ambitious and coherent legislation on provision and use of clean energy infrastructure for shipping

By | 2021 newsletter week 48 | No Comments

Europe’s ports welcome that the review of the current AFIR proposal is accompanied by provisions in the new FuelEU Maritime Proposal, which requires vessels to use shore-side electricity infrastructure at berth.

The alignment of requirements between what ports need to do and the obligations for shipping lines to use the infrastructure is one of the main points of ESPO’s joint position on the maritime pillar of the proposal for an Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) and on the proposal for a FuelEU Maritime Regulation.

Europe’s ports ask for a full alignment of Article 9 of the AFIR proposal with Articles 4 and 5, as well as with Annex III of the FuelEU Maritime proposal.

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

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ESPO’s Port Pro of the Month: Tom Hautekiet, Port of Zeebrugge

This month, Tom Hautekiet tells ESPO all about the Port of Zeebrugge.

Discover how he got into the port sector, how the Port of Zeebrugge handled the COVID-19 crisis and Brexit, and learn more about his views on the role of a port managing body and how a port can contribute to the decarbonization of the transport and logistics chain.

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

By | 2020 Newsletter week 48 | No Comments

ESPO Says Higher Ambitions are Needed for Reducing GHG Emissions from Shipping

On 17 November, the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC75) gave preliminary approval to the compromise agreement for the package of technical and operational measures to address greenhouse gas emissions from ships in the short run.

The agreed package combines the introduction of:

  • EEXI, Energy Efficiency Existing Ships Index
  • CII, Carbon Intensity Indicators operational measure
  • Carbon Intensity rating mechanism
  • the strengthening of the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) framework.

ESPO, the European Sea Ports Organisation, sees the agreement as a first step.

ESPO however believes that the 2018 IMO CO2 target is possibly not ambitious enough in light of the European Green Deal objective of no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050, and the higher EU targets for 2030.