The current European standards for the abatement of greenhouse gas emissions CO2 produced by ships of at least 400 gross tonnage while they are moored in EU ports will reduce their only up to 24%. This is highlighted by a working paper by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the independent non-profit whose objective is to promote the improvement of the environmental performance of the Transport.

The study, carried out by ICCT researchers Liudmila Osipova and Camilla Carraro, analyses the role that cold-ironing for the supply of energy from the electricity grid of land to ships that are moored in ports has within the framework of the Union-led decarbonisation of maritime transport which is based on two recently adopted standards: the FuelEU Maritime Regulation and the FuelEU Infrastructure Regulation alternative fuels (AFIR). The first is that from the first January 2030 container and passenger ships (including those from of at least 5,000 gross tonnage must connect to shore power in major ports that are part of the TEN Trans-European Transport Network -T, while the AFIR aims to regulate supply shore-based energy and incentivise infrastructure development in TEN-T ports.

For the purposes of the study, the following was taken into account: energy needs of ships docked in 489 ports in 2019 and the cold-ironing electricity infrastructure installed in EU ports, and calculates additional installations necessary to achieve the objectives set out in the regulations. In addition, the study estimates CO2 emissions from ships berthed in EU ports and assesses the effectiveness of the proposals to reduce them.

In particular, consideration was given to the approximately 15,700 ships that in 2019 stopped for more than two hours in the 489 major EU ports, requiring almost 5.9 terawatt hours of energy; Almost 70% of this energy demand came from ports of the TEN-T network. The study highlights that the types of vessels that Tankers, passenger ships and cruise ships (67% of total energy demand at berth), which are also a major contributor to CO2 emissions at the mooring. In 2019, half of the energy consumed by ships at berth in EU ports was generated by naval units ports in Italy, Spain and France, and mainly attributable to the cruise ships which, as regards further installations of cold-ironing plants needed to reduce emissions - notes the research – in these three countries it would represent the 59%-63% of the total.

Noting that there are currently 51 ports in 15 Member States cold-ironing infrastructure that provides 309 MW of energy, of which 283 MW for container ships, passenger and cruise ships, the study estimates that the EU needs to triple its o quadruple its installed coastal capacity by 2030 to meet the current ambitions of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation and AFIR.

The analysis demonstrates the limitations of the current European regulations in this area. CO2 emissions, which can also be used in terms of as an indicator to assess the potential for reduction air pollution in ports. According to the study, the current level of ambition of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation and of AFIR will lead to a reduction in emissions of only 24% produced by ships at berth in EU ports, estimated to be equal to to 4.37 million tonnes of CO2 in 2019. The study suggests policy measures to reduce CO2 emissions and meet the regulatory ambitions of the EU.