TRAN BACKS TRIALOGUE AGREEMENTS ON AFIR AND REFUELEU MARITIME
On May 24, MEPs of the TRAN Committee backed the agreement on mandatory deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure for cars and trucks (AFIR) and on cleaner maritime fuels (RefuelEU maritime).
The AFIR agreement establishes minimum national targets for the deployment of recharging and alternative refuelling stations for cars, trucks, and planes. By 2026, it will be mandatory to install electric charging pools with a minimum output of 400 kW at least every 60 kilometres along the core TEN-T network. This requirement will further increase to a power output of 600 kW by 2028. CLECAT particularly welcomed the agreement, as a dense network of charging and refuelling station suitable for HDVs is an indispensable requisite to achieve the ambition level proposed by the new CO2 standards for HDVs.
In the maritime sector, the agreement introduces new rules on sustainable maritime fuels, targeting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the promotion of decarbonization. Ships will have to gradually reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by cutting the amount of GHG in the energy they use (below 2020 level of 91.16 grams of CO2 per MJ) by 2% as of 2025, 6% as of 2030, 14,5% as of 2035, 31% as of 2040, 62% as of 2045 and 80% as of 2050. Moreover, the agreement mandates that containerships ships utilise onshore power supply for all their electricity needs while docked at major EU ports by 2030, effectively reducing air pollution in these areas.
The agreement now needs to be approved by the full House, possibly during the July plenary session in Strasbourg.
Source: European Parliament