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Shipping Groups Criticize EU’s Effort to Promote Alternative Fuels

5 June 2021

Shipping Groups Criticize EU’s Effort to Promote Alternative Fuels

 

 

Ahead of the adoption of the EU’s FuelEU Maritime initiative, which aims to increase the use of sustainable alternative fuels in European shipping and ports, a new study raises concerns about the global implications and potential negative effects on shipowners. The study, commissioned by the European Community Shipowners’ Associations and the International Chamber of Shipping, highlights outstanding issues concerning the cost, availability, and specification of biofuels, as well as important questions about enforcement relating to EU’s sustainability criteria and accountability for the quality of fuel.

 

The study, entitled FuelEU Maritime – Avoiding Unintended Consequences, explores the efficacy and implications of potential measures, including new EU fuel standards, to help decarbonize shipping. Among the key issues raised by the study is a concern that promotion of biofuels may raise serious enforcement concerns, as a mandatory fuel standard is aimed to apply to fuels purchased also outside the EU.

 

“The European shipping sector is committed to decarbonizing the shipping industry as quickly as possible. However, shipowners cannot be held accountable for the quality of fuels. This is the sole responsibility of fuel suppliers.” says Claes Berglund, ECSA President.

 

A standard for fuels purchased internationally would, in essence, mandate the use of biofuels by ships due to the lack of any viable alternative fuels, especially for deep sea shipping the study finds. However, according to the shipping organization that commissioned the report, this could have the unintended consequence of actually jeopardizing the achievement of emissions reductions.

 

Martin Dorsman, ECSA Secretary General said, “We understand that the Commission wants to implement EU’s sustainability criteria to all fuels covered by the proposal, but placing the legal responsibility for the fuel standards on ships does not address the substantial enforcement challenges, especially with regard to biofuels.”

 

Certifying non-EU fuel suppliers allowed to refuel ships internationally may imply that FuelEU Maritime would effectively regulate and potentially disrupt the international fuel market. Therefore, one of the main conclusions of the study is that the EU should ensure that the principal obligation for compliance with any new standards rests with fuel suppliers.

 

“You wouldn’t penalize a car owner for being sold the wrong fuel at a petrol pump, yet this is exactly what will happen to shipowners with the FuelEU maritime proposal,” said Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping. “In addition, there are legitimate concerns that FuelEU will jeopardize emissions reductions by mandating the use of biofuels, which have real-world issues for environmental sustainability”.

 

Another issue highlighted in the study is the introduction of an extremely complex compliance system, whereby ships unable to use or gain access to fuels that meet the required EU standards might instead be required to purchase credits from other companies or the Commission itself. This would effectively establish a carbon trading scheme in addition to and overlapping with the proposal to extend the EU ETS to shipping.

 

The study concludes that the FuelEU Maritime proposal, if properly designed, could contribute to addressing the barriers identified in the IMO GHG Strategy. They believe it could stimulate demand for low and zero-carbon marine fuels, which is currently negligible, but it must also address how the requirements will be handled globally and where the responsibilities sit for the quality of the fuel.

PUBLISHED JUN 4, 2021 7:45 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

 

Comments (0)


Today
8:03am
Hi Jenna! I made a new design, and i wanted to show it to you.
8:03am
It's quite clean and it's inspired from Bulkit.
8:12am
Oh really??! I want to see that.
8:13am
FYI it was done in less than a day.
8:17am
Great to hear it. Just send me the PSD files so i can have a look at it.
8:18am
And if you have a prototype, you can also send me the link to it.

Monday
4:55pm
Hey Jenna, what's up?
4:56pm
Iam coming to LA tomorrow. Interested in having lunch?
5:21pm
Hey mate, it's been a while. Sure I would love to.
5:27pm
Ok. Let's say i pick you up at 12:30 at work, works?
5:43pm
Yup, that works great.
5:44pm
And yeah, don't forget to bring some of my favourite cheese cake.
5:27pm
No worries

Today
2:01pm
Hello Jenna, did you read my proposal?
2:01pm
Didn't hear from you since i sent it.
2:02pm
Hello Milly, Iam really sorry, Iam so busy recently, but i had the time to read it.
2:04pm
And what did you think about it?
2:05pm
Actually it's quite good, there might be some small changes but overall it's great.
2:07pm
I think that i can give it to my boss at this stage.
2:09pm
Crossing fingers then

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