According to a report by the European Environment Agency and the European Maritime Safety Agency, shipping and inland waterway transport together account for as much as 13.5% of greenhouse gas emissions from transport in the European Union [1]. Maritime trade continues to be one of the most significant areas of trade in goods between the Community’s Member States and external countries. The study cited above shows that the maritime route dominates as much as ¾ of all EU trade with third countries. Although the development of this transport segment slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, current forecasts predict rapid growth over the coming decades [2]. The main factor emitting CO2 into the atmosphere is the widespread use of fossil fuels and the carbon-intensive process of burning them [3], and the EU is increasingly raising the need to seek new legislative solutions to combat global warming.
FuelEU Maritime – a new plan for European waters
The European Union is taking steps to gradually replace traditional fuels with renewable substances in the maritime and inland waterway segment. In the special programme FuelEU Maritime, the authorities have set themselves the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in maritime transport by up to 75% by 2050. As the Explanatory Memorandum to the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels for maritime transport and amending Directive 2009/16/EC shows, FuelEU Maritime proposes to introduce a common EU regulatory framework to increase the share of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the energy mix of international maritime transport without creating barriers to the single market. Circumstances related to potential barriers to the single market, distortions of competition between operators and changes in trade routes are particularly relevant with regard to fuel requirements, as fuel costs represent a significant proportion of costs for ship operators. The share of fuel costs in the operating costs of ships can range from around 35% of the freight rate of a small tanker to around 53% for container/mass carriers. Consequently, fluctuations in marine fuel prices can have a significant impact on the economic performance of ship operators. At the same time, the price differential between conventional fossil marine fuels and renewable low-carbon fuels remains high. In order to remain competitive while leading the sector towards the fuel transition that inevitably needs to take place, clear and uniform obligations on the use of renewable low-carbon fuels by ships are necessary. With greater predictability in the regulatory framework, it is expected that technology development and fuel production will be stimulated and the industry will find it easier to resolve this dilemma in terms of the demand and supply of renewable and low carbon fuels. The introduction of clear and uniform obligations on energy consumption by ships is essential to reduce the risk of carbon leakage to which maritime transport is exposed due to its international nature and the possibility of bunkering fuel outside the EU. Given the cross-border and global dimension of maritime transport, a common maritime regulation will be more appropriate than a legal framework requiring Member States to convert EU rules into national law. The latter could lead to a patchwork of national measures with different requirements and objectives [4].
European Emissions Trading Scheme – will it apply to shipping?
More recently, on 25 April 2023, EU bodies adopted a series of regulations to contribute to the progressive fulfilment of the Fit for 55 package [5]. Among the changes were standards issued to bring shipping emissions under the EU ETS – the European Emissions Trading Scheme [6]. It is this mechanism that is intended to be the main tool in the fight against high CO2 emissions in the European Union. The European Union CO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) was introduced in 2005 to prepare the EU for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. This document is an international agreement that imposes an obligation on developed countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 5% from 1990 levels by 2012. The EU-ETS builds on years of international cooperation and advances in climate change science. In the case of Poland, which participates in the European Emissions Trading System, this mechanism is somewhat controversial, mainly due to the frequent changes in legislation that affect the price of emission allowances and distort the market. In addition, the EU-ETS covers only about 40% of total CO2 emissions, focusing on sectors such as electricity, heating, industry and aviation, which raises accusations of unfairness from other industries. Now, the scheme has been expanded with new regulations and the EU legislator is setting increasingly ambitious reduction targets for Member States. In addition, regulations have been proposed to increase demand for low-carbon and renewable fuels, while promoting their use. Work is also underway on standards to significantly speed up the implementation of the relevant infrastructure, in order to facilitate the decarbonisation of transport.
Current legislation
The current legal position regarding the issue at hand is based on Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure. It regulates, inter alia:
– establishing a common framework for measures concerning the development of alternative fuel infrastructure;
– definitions necessary for the interpretation of the Directive;
– a national policy framework for alternative fuel infrastructure;
– the provision of electricity for transport;
-delivery of hydrogen for transport;
– the supply of natural gas for transport;
– information for users of charging points;
– exercising the powers delegated to the Commission and controlling the exercise thereof;
– committee procedure, reporting, transposition of the directive to the Member States [7].
According to Dr Adrianna Ogonowska, Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure has been revised. The European Commission’s assessment shows that this act is not properly aligned with the ambitious EU 2030 targets. This leads to insufficient and unevenly distributed infrastructure. This is compounded by numerous interoperability problems with physical connections, as well as problems with communication standards. User acceptance is also low due to the lack of transparent consumer information and common payment systems. It has therefore come to a bizarre situation where EU regulations – rather than contributing to the growth of the low-carbon transport market – are actually creating a barrier to it [7; 8].
In July 2021, an AFIR regulation was proposed to complement the FuelEU Maritime initiative, which regulates the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport. To date, the low demand from ship operators to connect to the electricity grid while at berth has made it difficult for ports to invest in shore power, making it less attractive [9].
The limited availability of electricity in ports entails the risk of unfair competition between ports. In particular, those who have invested in infrastructure at an earlier stage run the risk of losing the traffic of ships that are not technically equipped to receive electricity from onshore areas and can therefore only move their operations to other ports. In order to ensure uniform requirements for seaports within the TEN-T Trans-European Transport Network, it is necessary to define minimum standards [10]. Installations for the provision of shore-side electricity can equip shipping with clean energy and contribute to reducing the environmental impact of ships. Therefore, the aim of the regulation is to ensure sufficient electricity supply infrastructure in ports to serve berthing passenger and container ships.
The question of the coherence of the AFIR and the proposals covered by FuelEU Maritime with other policies in the European Union is important. In the Explanatory Memorandum of the said regulation, the EU legislator points out that the initiative aims to increase the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in EU maritime transport while maintaining a level playing field for ships both at sea and at berth in port, and to contribute to the achievement of EU and international climate and environmental targets. Ensuring a more diverse energy mix and a higher penetration of renewable and low-carbon fuels is essential to secure the sector’s contribution to Europe’s ambition of climate neutrality by 2050, as set out in the European Green Deal. At the same time, it is important to have a differentiated approach to the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in shipping and ports, taking into account the different impacts on air pollution with more stringent requirements for ships in ports and different technology availability (more options for ships in ports).” [11].
Although Directive 2014/94/EU on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure, which has been in place for almost a decade, is nearing the end of its term, there is no denying that it has had a significant impact on the development of electromobility legislation across Europe. With the announcement of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, it has become clear that the European Union is seeking a revolution in areas with a significant impact on the climate. Work on a new regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure (AFIR) is due to be completed by the end of 2023, and this will necessitate significant changes to Polish law, as the law on electromobility and alternative fuels was based in part on the implementation of the current directive.
REFERENCES:
[3] https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/90000-preventing-emissions-from-reaching-the-atmosphere/pl
[4] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0562&from=PT
[7] Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure
[10] https://www.gov.pl/web/infrastruktura/transeuropejska-siec-transportowa-ten-t
[11] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0562&from=PT
SOURCES:
– legal acts:
- Directive 2014/94/EU on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure
- Act of 11 January 2018 on electromobility and alternative fuels (Journal of Laws 2022, item 1083, as amended).
- Act of 20 June 1997 – Road Traffic Law (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2022, item 988)
- Act of 25 August 2006 on bio-components and liquid biofuels (Dz.U.2022.403 t.j. of 2022.02.16)
- Act of 25 August 2006 on the system of monitoring and controlling fuel quality (i.e. Journal of Laws 2022, item 1315, as amended).
– other:
- Pieriegud Jana , Gajewski Jerzy , Paprocki Wojciech – Elektromobility in Poland against the background of European and global tenations; published by CeDeWu Sp. z o.o. 2019 r.
- Kwiatkiewicz Piotr , Szczerbowski Radosław , Śledzik Waldemar – Electromobility. Infrastructure environment and technical challenges of intra-regional policy; FNCE 2020 ed.
- Dąbała U., Słomianko-Wasilewska M., Szałkowska H., Niektóre elementy konteneryzacji na świecie i w Polsce w latach 1970-1980, Materiały Instytutu Morskiego nr 857, Wydawnictwo Instytutu Morskiego, 1982, Gdańsk-Szczecin-Słupsk.
- Hubert Iglinski – Selected ways to reduce fuel consumption in maritime transport; Logistics 5/2012
- Krasucki Z., Neidar J., Containerisation in international transport, PWN, 1986, Warsaw.
- https://www.cire.pl/artykuly/serwis-informacyjny-cire-24/raport-zegluga-odpowiadala-za-135-proc-emisji-gazow-cieplarnianych-z-transportu-w-ue .
- https://www.obserwatorfinansowy.pl/tematyka/makroekonomia/trendy-gospodarcze/trudna-sztuka-naprawiania-zepsutej-logistyki-morskiej/ .
- https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/90000-preventing-emissions-from-reaching-the-atmosphere/pl .
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0562&from=PT .
- https://www.kobize.pl/pl/article/aktualnosci-2023/id/2294/projekty-aktow-prawnych-dot-unijnej-polityki-klimatycznej-przyjete-w-kwietniu-2023-r-przez-parlament-europejski-i-rade-ue .
- https://www.consilium.europa.eu/pl/policies/green-deal/fit-for-55-the-eu-plan-for-a-green-transition/
- Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure.
- https://codozasady.pl/p/dekarbonizacja-transportu-morskiego-infrastruktura-paliw-alternatywnych-w-portach-morskich
- https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/03/23/fueleu-maritime-initiative-provisional-agreement-to-decarbonise-the-maritime-sector/
- https://www.gov.pl/web/infrastruktura/transeuropejska-siec-transportowa-ten-t
