A new report commissioned by Danish Shipping indicates that the FuelEU Maritime and EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) initiatives could interact poorly with each other and create obstacles in the road to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of at least 55% in the EU by 2030.
The report , prepared by the research and consulting agency CE Delft, is based on real data from the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system, which provides an overview of emissions and fuel consumption from ships in EU ports.
It is said to provide a concrete picture of how a number of different ships operated by Danish Shipping’s members will be affected by the two initiatives as they are currently proposed under the EU’s green legislative package “Fit for 55”.
As described, in the coming years, FuelEU Maritime will require shipping companies to use more green fuel in their tanks and ETS will set a price on CO2 emissions to increase the use of green fuels.
According to the new report, the problem is that while FuelEU Maritime looks at all GHG and the entire fuel value chain, ETS only looks at the GHG CO2 and only at the emissions during actual combustion.
The first assesses the total climate footprint of extraction, refining, distribution and finally combustion, while the climate calculation for the latter is simpler.
Therefore, Danish Shipping specifically proposes that the ETS should simply apply to all greenhouse gases and take into account the entire fuel value chain.
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“Both tools will reduce greenhouse gases, but if they are to function optimally and contribute to the most effective reduction, the two bills must be adjusted so that they fit better together”, noted Maria Skipper Schwenn , director of Climate, Environment and Security at Danish Shipping.
Danish Shipping is actively using the report to draw attention to the problem, and not least the relatively simple solution. So there has been dialogue with EU negotiators from various countries, members of the European Parliament, interest groups and the European Commission, the organisation said.
“As the proposals from the Commission are at present, there is room for improvement and a need for homogeneity. Otherwise, the legal requirements risk creating obstacles. This is a shame, and therefore we hope that we can help to remedy this with this report.
“In general, the issue is arousing great interest, and the task is now to ensure that necessary changes are incorporated in the ETS proposal,” Skipper Schwenn concludes.
To remind, the organisation welcomed the “Fit for 55” proposal and highlighted a number of measures that are a natural extension of Danish Shipping’s goal to become climate-neutral by 2050.
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