On Wednesday 2 February, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport (TRAN) debated the report by Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Sweden) on sustainable fuels and energy in the maritime sector (‘FuelEU Maritime’) (see EUROPE 12862/9). This text is part of the ‘Fit For 55’ package, presented by the Commission on 14 July 2021, and should lead to a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 (see EUROPE 12762/1).
“Alternative fuels remain expensive. The additional costs in transport will be paid by consumers and households and small industries will be the most affected”, said Mr Warborn, adding that the targets set by the Commission “could result in significant costs”. “We have to be ambitious, but not too ambitious either”, he added.
This position is shared by the Finnish MEP, Elsi Katainen (Renew Europe), who considers the Commission’s proposal to be a “good starting point”, but calls for “remaining realistic”. “Raw materials must be available in sufficient quantities and at acceptable prices”, she added.
In addition, several MEPs - such as Vera Tax (S&D, Netherlands) - also stressed the importance of shifting the administrative and financial burden to the entire life cycle of fuels, thus including producers, not just shipping companies. The political group Identity and Democracy has already announced that it will table amendments on this subject.
Minimum threshold and port capacity
In addition, the question of the scope of the text also came up several times. The rapporteur, Jörgen Warborn, says that it is necessary to focus on the largest vessels, those over 5,000 tonnes. “They account for 90% of emissions”, he underlined.
Others, like Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Netherlands), favour a more radical approach, wanting to see the threshold lowered to 400 tonnes.
Still on the subject of the scope, several MEPs called for the capacity of ports to be taken into account for shore-side supply.
“Imposing the obligation to connect to the platform in all situations will not be effective. This obligation should only be effective when it comes to TEN-T ports”, said Jörgen Warborn, who also believes that “compensatory actions will be necessary to avoid an excessive regulatory burden”.
Finally, several members of the TRAN Committee insisted on the need to settle the issue of refuelling rules as soon as possible in order to avoid that ships can refuel in third countries with less strict legislation.
“We have to do this as soon as possible, otherwise we will lose sight of our objectives”, concluded Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi (EPP, Greece). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)