Europe to give shipping priority access to greener fuels

The European Commission published on Tuesday its proposal for a 2040 climate target laying out the pathway to make the European Union climate neutral by 2050 with shipping shown its green pathway, and a noticeable rapprochement with the industry’s global regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

European shipowners welcomed the commitment of the commission to address “barriers to the deployment of low- and zero-emissions fuels including e-fuels and advanced biofuels” in shipping and to give the sector “priority access to these fuels over sectors that have access to other decarbonisation solutions”.

The commission acknowledged that the increased costs of sustainable fuels is a key factor for the competitiveness of shipping and has committed to consider regulatory measures to foster their production.

ECSA endorsed the commission’s consideration of differentiated targets for shipping in alignment with the IMO’s greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy, under the three scenarios for the decarbonisation of the European economy. The IMO GHG strategy, which was agreed in July 2023, sets up a target of net zero GHG by 2050, with objectives of at least 70% striving for 80% by 2040.

In previous years, the EU, frustrated by slow progress at the IMO, had gone down on its own route for creating green regulations for shipping, something that saw the industry included in the bloc’s emission trading scheme from the start of this year.