Europe’s Ports Welcome The Agreement On FuelEU Maritime To Reduce Emissions From Shipping During Navigation And At Berth
The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) is pleased to see that a preliminary agreement has been reached between co-legislators on the proposal for FuelEU Maritime. The agreement provides the shipping sector with a framework to accelerate their green transition through reduced emissions during navigation and at berth. The ambitious requirements for ships to reduce emissions starting in 2025 will help drive the uptake of alternative fuels in shipping, as well as help ensure the use of shore side electricity (SSE). ESPO welcomes that the agreement on FuelEU Maritime introduces a requirement for ships to use shore side electricity at berth in TEN-T ports as well as in other ports which installed this infrastructure starting in 2030. For ports, it is important that this obligation to use is implemented and strictly enforced. The obligation to use comes however with quite some exceptions that risks further delaying and limiting the use of the shore side electricity installations in ports. For ports, in line with the upcoming new Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), 2030 will be the deadline for having shore side electricity infrastructure in place. It is to be expected that many ports will already have these installations operational years before that, without any guarantee of use. Ports therefore strongly hope for the engagement of shipping lines to use shore side electricity when available before 2030.