The Commission has welcomed the political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council that mandates maritime transport to contribute to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by at least 55% by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
The Fuel EU Maritime agreement sets out a progressive plan for reducing the GHG intensity of fuels used by vessels, starting at 2% in 2025 and reaching 80% by 2050. It also incorporates shipping emission levels into the EU ETS, effective as of December 18, 2022.
Waterborne transport accounted for 3-4% of total CO2 emissions in 2021 and is anticipated to grow with increased primary resource and container transport needs.
This mandate takes a goal-based, technology-neutral approach, considering not only CO2 but also methane and nitrous oxide emissions over their entire lifespan.
It also requires zero-emission operations at berth through onshore power supply or other alternative zero-emission technologies.
This encourages using renewable fuels with high decarbonisation potential while providing legal clarity for operators and producers and helping stabilize market prices for fossil fuels vs green alternatives.
The agreement will be officially adopted soon and published in the Official Journal of the EU before taking effect 20 days later.
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