Last night at the end of the trilogue meeting between the representatives of the Council, Parliament and the Commission of the European Union convened to agree on a common text on inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the maritime sector, a preliminary agreement has been reached. "I respect the Commission's proposal," said Peter Liese, rapporteur for EU ETS in the European Parliament, who has agreed to make substantial improvements. First, we include methane and dinitrogen oxide in addition to CO2. This is very important given that some alternatives to bunker fuels also create climate problems if they are not properly managed. " " Second, we have expanded the scope by including offshore vessels of gross tonnage of more than 5,000 tonnes. This will bring a net benefit to the climate of 20 million tonnes of CO2. It will also increase revenues and 20 million allowances will be earmarked for specific projects in the maritime sector through the Innovation/ Climate Investment Fund. "

In addition, Liese explained that, with regard to the gradual introduction of shipping in the system, the three European institutions have preliminary agreed on a compromise under which shipping companies will have to return quotas that cover on 40% of their emissions in 2024, 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026.

Liese has specified that some define this "historic" agreement because for more than ten years the European Parliament, many experts, particularly the environmental sector, many member states and the European Commission have pushed for this inclusion. "Now, we are close to a formal agreement," he said. As proposed by the Commission, it will be included not only travel within the EU, but also travel from EU ports to third countries and third countries to EU ports (50%).

"There are still very difficult points to be resolved within the framework of the negotiations on the ETS, including free quotas for the sector, the innovation fund, the fund for modernisation and the inclusion of the heating sector," Liese said. of that of road transport in the system. I am confident that it will be possible to find an agreement on these issues in the 16-17 trilogue. "

The preliminary agreement last night was welcomed by the European Community Shipowners ' Associations (ECSA), according to which " Parliament and the Council have upheld the appeals of the sector's stakeholders to allocate the EU's revenues ETS to the maritime sector to support its energy transition. At least 20 million of the ETS, which corresponds to 1.5 billion euros according to the current carbon price ETS, will be allocated to maritime projects under the Innovation Fund, the European Commission said.

"The decarbonisation of maritime transport-the secretary general of the ECSA, Sotiris Raptis-is not a question of" if, "but a question of" how. " Allocating part of the ETS revenues to the maritime sector represents a victory for the decarbonisation of the sector. Targeted support through the Innovation Fund is essential to close the price gap with clean fuels, improve the energy efficiency of ships, promote innovation and build infrastructure in the ports. We look forward to working with the Commission and the stakeholders to develop effective tools for the transition of the sector. "

The ECSA stressed that the period of gradual introduction and the progressive inclusion of emissions from maritime transport over a three-year period are also crucial to ensure a smooth transition for the sector. The association noted that the colegislators have also agreed on special provisions for ships with "ice class" notation, for small islands and for the outermost regions.

Partial satisfaction with the outcome of the trilogue meeting on Thursday evening was manifested by the Italian company Assshipowners, according to which " this agreement partially recedes certain instances supported by the association with respect to the initial proposal of the European Commission, for example, envisages an exemption from such a scheme until 2030 for maritime links with smaller islands and the destination of a portion of the proceeds to the maritime sector to finance investments in technological innovation, by overhering some proposed changes that would have further aggravated the already significant impacts of the ETS. And this would not have been possible without support during the negotiations of our national administration and the Italian delegation to the European Parliament, which works on this dossier from beyond a year ago. year, he addresses a heartfelt thank you. "

"However, in the view of the Italian association the glass is half empty, it is evident that the ETS is likely to result in a significant economic impact, or a markup in transport costs," said Assshipowner. with immediate reflections on the territorial continuity with the major islands and on the Autostrade of the Sea ; and this at a time when precisely the Autostrade of the Sea, as the key cornerstone of the sustainability of the transport, should be on the contrary protected. "

In this regard, and in view of the upcoming trilogue in mid-December, the President of Assshipowners, Stefano Messina, reiterated " the need to ensure synergistic alignment in the application of the measure between maritime and road transport. A temporal disparity in the implementation of the two regimes, not to mention the hypothesis that it sees such a pattern applied only to maritime transport-it specified-would not only put the ambitious modal transfer targets at risk from the road to the sea set by the European Commission itself, but it could lead to a reverse modal shift, which would submerge to the already particularly impactful effects of that measure. In this vein, the role of the Autostrade of the Sea, a true instrument of environmental sustainability, needs to be protected. "

"Finally it is crucial that the significant share of the proceeds from the ETS that will be allocated to the national budget will be used to finance exclusively investments in the maritime sector, while accelerating it," Messina said. research, innovation, the production of the new alternative fuels and the realization of an adequate logistics and distribution network so as to ensure the effective availability on the market of the latter in the coming years. "