Interferry has expressed strong concern about the current state of the negotiations on the ETS, the Emissions Trading System of the EU, as - explained the international association that represents the shipping companies that operate ferries - not the persistent regulatory imbalance that penalizes unjustly maritime transport. An imbalance - highlighted Interferry - which sees the Member States on the one hand push for a further postponement of the EU ETS2, the new system European Emissions Trading Scheme, which extends the market for the to the trucking and buildings sectors, and on the other hand ferry operators who are facing a constant competitive disadvantage compared to a road transport which is characterised by higher emissions high.

"The revision of the ETS system - observed Johan Roos, Interferry's Director of Regulatory Affairs - addresses many points, in particular the use of funds raised for the decarbonisation of maritime transport. However, allowing residential heating companies to confer an advantage undeserved commercial transport of goods by road compared to the maritime transport is unacceptable. The burdens and challenges of decarbonisation - Roos underlined - cannot be supported by individual sectors, and all transport sectors must be treated equally. To restore fairness, EU policymakers need to make more detailed the scope of ETS2, separating road transport from emissions from buildings to ensure a fair competition or, alternatively, apply carbon costs in a uniform way to all sectors. Any other solution does not would only consolidate the current unfair disadvantage without bringing any benefit to the climate or to the environment".

Interferry recalled that from 2024 commercial ships passengers and cargo units of 5,000 gross tonnage or more tonnes calling at European ports are subject to the EU ETS, and that compliance costs currently amount to about 250 euros per ton of diesel. For European operators of ro-pax (passenger and freight) and ro-ro (only - highlighted the association - the annual cost is estimated at about one billion euros. "Despite this burden is designed to incentivise the transition to more - denounced Interferry - it weighs on a market heavily biased. Ferry routes often compete directly by road transport; however, the latter - a sector that generates significantly higher emissions - continues to benefit from the EU ETS2 postponements. Already postponed from 2027 to 2028, ETS2 is now subject to new pressure from several EU Member States, calling for a further postponement. This eventuality - noted The association - derives from the inclusion of road transport in the same regulatory category as for the sector of construction. As a result, political concerns - particularly felt in the Member States of Eastern Europe and - regarding the costs of domestic heating during winter are effectively protecting road freight transport emissions trading scheme. For However, the resulting market distortion is real and harmful, regardless of political motivations underneath".

"The highest and most distributed costs caused by the EU ETS - Interferry denounced again - are partly leading to a shift in the demand for transport away from ferry services. At the same time, such disparities make it extremely difficult to pass on costs on customers. Ultimately, this translates into in a lack of the investments necessary for rapid decarbonization of the sector".

Reiterating that regulatory simplification for a sector that is not must be at the expense of fair competition and that road transport cannot continue to be exempt from effective taxation of greenhouse gases', Interferry has also insisted that all revenues from the ETS compliance for the maritime sector 'must be rigorously constrained and reinvested in decarbonisation of the maritime sector itself: through marine fuels sustainable products in the EU, clean technologies and infrastructure recharging on the ground".