ECSA, the trade association of shipping companies Airlines for Europe (A4E), the association that represents European airlines, and Transport & Environment (T&E), the independent European environmental association committed to in reducing the environmental impact of transport, have published a joint statement strongly urging the European Commission and EU states to increase production of clean fuels for maritime and air transport in Europe.

'As representatives of the sectors of the maritime transport and air transport and organizations - reads the statement - we reaffirm the our commitment to climate and industrial goals of the EU. To achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and ensure that these sectors remain competitive, we must now prioritise the clean fuels for maritime transport and aviation at the to decarbonise these transport sectors that are "hard to abbot". A strong European industrial base for clean fuels - underline ECSA, A4E and T&E - is essential to achieve climate objectives and ensure the leadership in green innovation. These fuels will need to be produced on a large scale to meet the objectives climate standards for aviation and shipping'.

"The Europe's potential leadership in fuel technologies - the document continues - offers a unique opportunity to build a supply chain that improves energy security, creates jobs and promote climate goals. However, the large-scale green fuel projects face significant uncertainties that discourage private investment. These include technological risks and initial capital requirements that disadvantage the "first movers", whether they are producers, financiers or end users. Additional obstacles include the high production costs of clean fuels and a misalignment of business models between manufacturers, which are looking for long-term contracts at high prices, and users, for short-term commitments for lower fuel volumes involve less risk. These factors create high Financial risks and uncertainty that could be insurmountable without more personalized public support than that provided by the current EU Hydrogen Bank and ETS Innovation programmes Fund».

"To face these challenges - wrote the three associations - we urge the European Commission to: include Scalable renewable fuels and innovative technologies necessary for maritime transport and air transport, two of the sectors that are more difficult to decarbonise than the economy, as part of the next Clean Industrial Deal; take advantage of the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) in line with the Competitiveness Compass to reduce investment risk needed to rapidly scale up production and distribution of scalable renewable fuels for shipping and aviation. Based on the NZIA, the STIP should require that at least 40% of the scalable renewable fuels needed to comply with FuelEU Maritime and ReFuelEU Aviation is produced in the EU'.

In addition, ECSA, A4E and T&E call on the European Commission to 'To create a European industrial base for fuels Scalable renewables for maritime transport and transport reducing project risks through support public finance and national revenues of the ETS, as well as mechanisms for revenue certainty, such as contracts for differences. This, in particular, should address uncertainty arising from the high production costs of scalable renewable fuels, from long-term purchase commitments required time frame and market volatility, which currently in Europe prevent projects from providing large volumes of renewable fuels, in particular of hydrogen".

The three associations then urge to "develop a Built-in matchmaking platform for easy access aggregated with the funding programmes of Europe and the Member States Member States according to the one-stop-shop principle. What update of the Hydrogen Bank - they explain - this mechanism simplify applications, increase transparency and it would improve communication between companies and authorities" and, finally, they call for "facilitating the role of airports and ports as energy hubs through infrastructure works to renewable fuels and promoting cooperation between ports".

"The Draghi report - recalled the Secretary General of ECSA, Sotiris Raptis, in Presentation of the Joint Statement today Referring to the Future of Competitiveness Report presented last September by Mario Draghi - found that European shipping alone needs 40 billion euros per year to decarbonise. Il Clean Industrial Deal must set the conditions for making fuel available clean for sea transport. We need huge Investments in clean fuels, certainty through solid binding requirements and simplification of access to finance public and private. This is essential to maintain the internationally competitive European maritime transport, while ensuring a thriving industrial cluster and innovative".