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FEPORT, ETA, EMPA and ECASBA issued this week a press release urging the EU Commission to start a study about the impact of EU ETS for shipping. The associations express concern on the risk of cargo diversion to the detriment of EU ports with the upcoming entry into force at the beginning of 2024 of EU ETS for shipping. They note that the measures proposed by the EU Commission i.e., the monitoring and the possibility of a review of the Regulation do not constitute the proper response to real risks of cargo diversion to the benefit of non-EU ports in the Mediterranean and the UK.

Ports have not been on the radar of the EU Commission when EU ETS for shipping was discussed, FEPORT, ETA, EMPA and ECASBA members are now in a situation where shipping lines, which do not intend to pass on the additional ETS costs to their customers, will prefer to call non-EU ports with all implications this will have on employment and economic activity for EU ports. Furthermore, the Fit for 55 objectives to reduce emissions will be circumvented. Once the trade routes are shifted and the regulations are bypassed, it will be very difficult to reverse these detrimental effects.

At the same time, FEPORT, ETA, EMPA and ECASBA call on the Commission to continue to raise its voice within IMO in favour of a global ETS and concurrently to immediately explore the possibility of concluding bilateral agreements with EU neighbouring countries that could adopt legislation similar to ETS and with converging timelines.