The European Parliament has adopted a position on the FuelEU Maritime Regulation agreeing to the first definitive steps to incentivize the adoption of alternative and low carbon fuels.
The Parliament voted overwhelmingly for the adoption of standards that call for the maritime sector to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships going beyond the levels set out by the European Commission. Parliament voted in favour of requiring ships to cut GHG emissions by 2% by 2025, 20% by 2035 and 80% by 2050, compared to a 2020 base. Parliament also voted in favour of setting a target of 2% usage of renewable fuels and mandated containerships and passenger ships to use on-shore power supply while at berth at main EU ports, as of 2030.
The European Parliament said that the rules would impact 90% of CO2 emissions from the maritime industry. The rules as adopted this week would apply for ships above 5,000 gt and the emission reduction targets are for all energy used on board in or between EU ports, and to 50% of the energy used on journeys where the departure or arrival port is outside the EU or in its outermost regions.
To ensure compliance the European Parliament voted in favour of the introduction of penalties. It also provided exemptions, including deleting penalties when ports do not have adequate shore power infrastructure and introducing special conditions for ice-class vessels, as well as for islands and the outermost regions of the EU.