ECSA deplores that port and cargo interests condone regional measures
ECSA regrets that European port and cargo interests have come out in favour of the European Parliament’s position to conditionally include shipping in the EU Emission Trading Scheme as of 2023 if the International Maritime Organisation does not have a comparable system operating by 2021. European port and freight forwarder associations did confirm that a global agreement is their preferred option to curb greenhouse gas emissions of ships. By supporting regional pressure to achieve this goal, ECSA however believes they will obtain the exact opposite.
“IMO Member States agreed in October last year on a roadmap to curb GHG from shipping that is now being implemented in two steps, delivering a final global strategy by 2023.“, said ECSA Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven, “The request of Parliament to already have a system comparable to the EU ETS operating globally two years earlier ignores and jeopardises the international commitment that IMO countries, including all EU Member States, have signed up to.”
“It is most unfortunate and worrying that our partners in the logistics chain are condoning a regional approach”, Patrick Verhoeven continued, “Whilst we recognise and support the pro-active attitude of ports and logistic operators to reduce GHG emissions, we are disappointed that they do not see how the position of Parliament will exactly achieve the opposite of what they also claim to desire: an ambitious and effective global agreement for shipping. And then we don’t even mention the detrimental effects a regional ETS will most certainly have on EU ports that are open to competition from non–EU neighbours, such as Mediterranean hubs and – with Brexit – the North Sea ports. Instead of supporting regional pressure, we invite our service providers and customers to have their voices heard in the IMO. That is where the actual work now takes place.”