Today the Council of the European Union adopted definitively the new "FuelEU Maritime" regulation to promote the deployment and use of renewable fuels and Low carbon emissions in the maritime transport sector in order to implement the decarbonization of shipping. The new regulation will be published in the "Official Journal" of the EU after the summer and will enter into force on the twentieth day after publication. The new rules will apply to from 1 January 2025.

The regulation, which is part of the "Fit for 55" package presented two years ago by the European Commission ( of 14 July 2021), provides for the introduction of measures to reduce gradually the intensity of greenhouse gases of fuels used by the maritime transport sector starting from a decrease of 2% in 2025 to reach 80% by 2050. In particular, with regard to the requirements for energy used on board ships, the Regulation, in Article 4 of Chapter II, sets the greenhouse gas intensity limit of the energy used on board by a ship that "1. The intensity annual average greenhouse gas of the energy used on board by a vessel during a reference period does not exceed the limit laid down in paragraph 2.; 2. The limit referred to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated reducing the reference value by 91.16 grams of CO2 equivalent per MJ of the following percentage: 2% from 1 January 2025; 6% from 1 January 2030; 14.5% from 1 January 2035; 31% from 1 January 2040; 62% from 1 January 2045; 80% from 1 January 2050".

The Regulation also introduces a special incentive scheme to support the use of so-called renewable fuels Non-biological origin (RFNBO) with a high potential for decarbonisation, the exclusion of fossil fuels from Regulation certification process, the obligation - starting from 2030 - for passenger ships and container ships of connect to the power supply from the ground for the need for electricity while moored at the quay in the main EU ports, in order to mitigate pollution atmospheric in ports.

In addition, the regulation provides for a voluntary mechanism for setting up pooling, whereby vessels will be authorised to pool their compliance balance with one or more ships. The average balance of the pool will have to respect the limits of intensity of greenhouse gases. Exceptions apply limited in time for region-specific treatment outermost regions, small islands and highly isolated areas dependent, from an economic point of view, on their connectivity.

Finally, Article 62 of the new regulation states that " revenue generated by the payment of FuelEU fines and collected by reference States should be used to promoting the distribution and use of renewable fuels and low carbon emissions in the maritime transport sector and to help maritime transport operators achieve their climate and environmental goals".