ESPO — 2023-03-07
News from Brussels
On 2023 March 13, the European Parliament is expected to vote on the political agreement for the revised EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
ESPO and FEPORT welcome the inclusion of maritime in the EU ETS as part of decarbonising shipping.
The revised ETS system will apply to maritime shipping and, after a phase-in period between 2024-2026, will require shipping companies to submit allowances covering 100% of emissions on intra-EU voyages (between two ports in the EU) and in ports, and 50% of emissions on extra-EU voyages (between a port in the EU and a port outside the EU).
Managing bodies of Europe’s ports (ESPO) and private port companies and terminal operators (FEPORT) support financial incentives to speed up the greening of shipping. Nonetheless, the geographical scope of the EU ETS Maritime agreement could still lead to evasive port calls where shipping companies can avoid paying into the ETS by adding a call to a port outside the EU, or by reconfiguring their routes.
Evasion will threaten the integrity of the ETS, leading to higher emissions from longer voyages whilst failing to push shipping companies to green their operations. Fewer allowances being auctioned will mean less revenues available for the decarbonization of the sector. Finally, evasive port calls will negatively affect employment and business activity in certain ports in the EU, and undermine their strategic role as hubs of transport, renewable energy, and connectivity.
More is needed to ensure monitoring and effective prevention of carbon and business leakage from EU ETS Maritime
It is a positive signal that the political agreement takes the risks of evasion into account, and ESPO and FEPORT appreciate that the Commission will monitor and report on the impacts of EU ETS Maritime on port traffic, port evasion and traffic shift of transhipment hubs. Port managing bodies and terminal operators strongly support that the Commission acts as soon as evasion is identified.
FEPORT and ESPO also value the co-legislators’ efforts to introduce a definition of “port of call” which excludes stops in container transhipment ports neighbouring the EU, to be defined via Implementing Acts.
However, in order to ensure successful monitoring of carbon and business leakage and take timely restorative measures, additional factors should be considered:
Evasion from the maritime EU ETS is a serious concern that continues to pose a threat to the credibility and robustness of the EU ETS. Early action is crucial as changes in port traffic and the reconfiguration of shipping routes are almost impossible to reverse once they occur.
ESPO and FEPORT are committed to supporting the EU Commission in its efforts to monitor carbon and business leakage and in swiftly adopting preventive and restorative measures.
The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) represents the port authorities, port associations and port administrations of the seaports of 22 Member States of the European Union and Norway at political level. ESPO also has observer members in Albania, Iceland, Israel, Montenegro, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. ESPO is the principal interface between the European seaport authorities and the European institutions. In addition to representing the interests of European ports, ESPO is a knowledge network which brings together professionals from the port sector and national port organisations. ESPO was created in 1993.
The Federation of European Private Port Companies and Terminals (FEPORT) represents the interests of 1225 private port companies and terminals performing cargo handling and logistics related activities in the seaports of the European Union, which employ over 390.000 port workers. The organization was founded in 1993 to promote the interests of its members, and to maintain continuous dialogue with all EU institutional and non-institutional stakeholders. FEPORT is based in Brussels, Belgium