The European Parliament and Council have reached a pact on new cleaner marine fuels legislation.
The FuelEU initiative is included in the Fit for 55 package.
The agreement targets a 2% reduction in emissions from ships from 2025 to reach 80% from 2050 to help the European Union achieve climate neutrality.
It should be noted that this agreement is provisional, and still needs to be approved by the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee and the Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee, and subsequently by the Parliament and the Council as a whole.
During the talks, MEPs have reached that ships will have to gradually reduce emissions by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the energy they use below the 2020 level; 2% from 2025; 6% from 2030; 14.5% from 2035, 31% from 2040; 62% from 2045; and 80% from 2050.
Container ships will be required to use shore-side electricity supply at major ports from 2030.
The preliminary agreement also states that, from 2030, “container ships and passenger ships will be obliged to use shore-side electricity supply for all their electricity needs while berthed at the quayside of major EU ports.”
“It will also apply to all other EU ports from 2035 onwards, if they have shore-side electricity supply” adds the European Parliament.
Jörgen Warborn MEP, has stated that this agreement “establishes by far the most ambitious path in the world towards maritime decarbonization”.
Warborn said that no “other world power has developed such a comprehensive framework to address maritime emissions”.