Maja Markovčić Kostelac, Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), affirmed her commitment to improving the sustainability of the maritime sector at her exchange of views with the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) on Wednesday 4 September. “Sustainability is becoming a priority for us, and we are assisting the European Commission and the Member States in all its aspects”, she assured.
While its mandate is currently under review (see EUROPE 13434/1), EMSA’s remit has increased over time. Ms Markovčić Kostelac compared the decarbonisation of ships to the “revolutionary change” that was the transition from sailing to steam. “Although CO2 emissions from international shipping only account for 3 to 4% of total emissions, or 13% of all transport, decarbonisation is becoming a mainstream policy, also in industry”, she noted.
Thanks to the legislative package adopted in the spring (see EUROPE 13388/14), “promising technologies are in the pipeline and financial instruments are there, which will speed up the process”, she believes.
EMSA will be studying new fuels to try to understand the impact of their use, particularly from a safety point of view. “We should not limit ourselves to one option or another, because there is no single optimal fuel for each commercial activity or type of vessel”, she stressed. “By expanding knowledge and applying concrete measures through port state control, we will certainly promote solutions”, she said.
Asked about carbon leakage, she replied that EMSA is already working with various European Commission departments to study potential carbon leakage, but that it is still in the process of implementing the new rules.
EMSA will publish the second edition of its environmental report in January 2025. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)