EU transport ministers held a meeting in Croatia and adopted a declaration on guidelines for the development of EU maritime policy, calling for an emissions trading scheme to cover ships from all countries with a target of achieving a carbon-neutral and zero pollution waterborne transport sector.
The European Community Shipowners’ Associations has expressed its support, saying, “The declaration clearly shows that the ministers place a huge importance on the competitiveness of the European shipping sector, in view of the vital and strategic role it plays in the EU economy, global trade and the common market.”
Efforts for a greener shipping future have been taking place across the globe, with the majority of shipping players issuing guidelines of how seafarers and ships can “act” greener.
In addition, the EU Ministers responsible for waterborne transport policy, through the guidelines published, highlight the vital and strategic role of waterborne transport to the EU economy, global trade and connectivity, and its importance to the functioning of the internal market.
Also, the Ministers note that education, training and lifelong learning of the seafarers and inland navigation workers in the rapidly changing waterborne transport environment is important. Therefore, they applaud the launch of EU’s Green Deal, which aims to accelerate progress towards a fully sustainable EU waterborne transport sector within a fair and prosperous society.
Croatia stresses the commitment to maritime transport to effectively implement the global Sulphur cap, while also encouraging the research, development, funding and deployment of zero-emission vessels for short sea shipping and inland navigation in the near future.
In the meantime, the Ministers stressed the importance of digital transformation towards the waterborne transport sector enabling seamless multimodal transport operations.
Other key point in the declaration include:
– Reaffirming the objective of supporting the long-term competitiveness of European shipping in global maritime markets in the context of growing protectionist trends and restrictive measures;
– Stressing the commitment for maritime transport to effectively implement the global sulphur cap;
– Emphasizing the need to develop carbon-neutral port activities through the promotion of green initiatives on port operations, vessels and energy industrial production;
– Noting the importance of climate proofing, resilience building, prevention and preparedness in relation to climate change adaptation of the waterborne sector;
Read the Declaration in full at: EU-Waterborne-Transport-Sector-Future-Outlook
