Maritime Transport

With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounted for nearly 3% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions, according to the 4^th IMO GHG study.

Shipping is seen as one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, and indeed according to the same report, shipping emissions rose by 10% between 2012 and 2018.

Hence, FuelsEurope welcomed the Commission’s Fit for 55 Package as it contains constructive proposals for the decarbonisation of transport, including Maritime, and developing the policy framework necessary for the transition of the fuels industry.

As part of this package, the ReFuelEU Maritime regulation aims to boost the supply and demand for sustainable marine fuel in the EU, in order to reduce maritime’s environmental footprint and enable it to help achieve the EU’s climate targets.

And as such we support the following principles: shipping is an international business; therefore, EU regulation should preserve the international competitiveness of the sector, and remain coherent with those in place or under development at the IMO level to avoid climate ambition gaps and regulatory overlap between the EU and the rest of the world in this sector.

We welcome the well-to-wake (WTW) emissions standard as a suitable measure to drive the development and deployment of sustainable alternative marine fuels.

As FuelsEurope, we are supportive of a technology-neutral regulation with default Green House Gas (GHG) values for all energies, periodically updated to take technology improvements into account.

The optionality for demonstration of lower carbon intensity pathways, proposed for non-fossil fuels and tank-to-wake (TTW) emissions in the regulation, should be extended to well-to-tank (WTT) fossil fuel pathways, (eg with the application of carbon capture and storage) to allow WTT CO₂ credits, based on verified evidence, and certified through an independent, accredited body.

Expanding the pool of eligible feedstocks for low carbon fuel manufacturing to all waste and residues meeting the Renewable Energy Directive criteria would provide the widest and most competitive options for low carbon marine fuel development.

The recognition of co-processing, recycled carbon fuels, renewable fuels of a non-biological origin as an intermediate product and low carbon synthetic fuels with high GHG savings as sustainable marine fuel.

Continued innovation in ship design, operation and efficiency which have the potential to reduce GHG emissions by more than 35%.