The Cyprus Shipping Chamber has expressed its strong support to a joint statement by the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) and the European green transport advocacy group Transport & Environment (T&E).
The joint statement calls on EU policymakers to prioritise clean fuel production as a crucial component of the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal and emphasises the urgent need for scaled-up investments and a comprehensive regulatory framework to drive the maritime sector’s energy transition.
A press release issued by the CSC said that shipping is identified as one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise and the recent Draghi Report estimates that achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 will require approximately €40 billion in annual investments.
To address this challenge, it added, ECSA and T&E stress the necessity of prioritising the production of clean fuels in the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal in order to support the energy transition of Shipping, while increasing industrial capacity in Europe, at a time when global Shipping is seeking to reach net-zero by 2050.
ECSA and T&E in their joint statement highlight several critical issues to ensure that policymakers safeguard the international competitive advantage of the European industry by positioning shipping, clean energy and technology producers at the forefront of the green transition, accelerate the transition of European shipping by investing ETS revenues into maritime decarbonisation through national and EU investment plans, and by facilitating access to public and private finance, include shipping in an ambitious Clean Industrial Deal, ensuring that at least 40% of clean fuels and clean and innovative technologies needed to achieve EU’s climate targets for shipping are manufactured in Europe and enable shipping’s access to green energy through dedicated supply requirements on fuel producers in European ports.
“CSC agrees that the integration of the above proposed measures safeguards European Shipping sustainable future while also reinforces Europe’s strategic energy and supply chain security”, the press release concluded.
(Source: CNA)
