ATTN: ALL FULL MEMBERS
Dear Full Members of INTERCARGO,
Wishing you all a very happy New Year!
You may find here below a summary of latest EU developments and the EU Fit 55 Policy Package. A brief containing more details is also enclosed.
EU ETS
The revised EU ETS and EU MRV legislation apply from 1st January 2024. More information can be found in our circular: ref: 1229 -F/TC > (EU REGULATION) EU ETS and EU MRV updated summary.
INNOVATION FUND
The Innovation Fund 2023 calls were launched on 23 November.
- There are no dedicated calls for the maritime sector.
- For projects concerning investments on ships, at least 30% of annual port calls of the ship must be in EU/EEA ports.
- “Ship building or refurbishment outside of the EU” are not considered eligible under the call. The Innovation Fund will thus only fund shipbuilding in EU/EEA. Similarly, the installation of a marine equipment would need to take place in EU/EEA.
FUEL EU MARITIME
- All low GHG fuels purchased and used to ensure compliance with FuelEU should be counted when calculating the annual total reduction in GHG intensity of the energy used onboard under FuelEU, irrespective where they were used.
- The Commission is working on the delegated and implementing acts.
EUROPEAN LIST OF SHIP RECYCLING FACILITIES
- The 12th update of the European List of ship recycling facilities was published in the EU Official Journal.
EU TAXONOMY
The aim of the EU Taxonomy is to help improve the flow of money towards sustainable activities across the European Union.
- EU Taxonomy delegated acts have been published in the official journal of the EU including the amendments to the first Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act (TDA1), which defines the technical screening criteria for economic activities – including maritime transport.
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY DUE DILIGENCE DIRECTIVE
The Directive aims to enhance the protection of the environment and human rights in the EU and globally. The Directive will set obligations for large companies regarding actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights and the environment, with respect to their activities in their value chains
- A provisional agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence directive (CSDDD) was reached by the Council and the European Parliament
- The CSDDD will apply to companies with more than 500 employees and a worldwide annual turnover of more than €150 million. For non-EU companies the Directive will apply if they have a €150 million net turnover generated in the EU, three years from the entry into force of the directive.
- The provisional agreement reached still needs to be officially adopted by the EU Council and the European Parliament. It will then be transposed into national legislation.
MARITIME SAFETY PACKAGE
Members may recall that the Commission has proposed to add environmental parameters which will be taken into account to establish the ship risk profile used to target ships for inspection. More particularly the proposed environmental parameters also include the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII): ships which are category D-E shall be considered as posing a higher risk.
- The Council has removed the CII from the list of environmental parameters of the ship risk profile. The Parliament proposes to remove the CII until the IMO has concluded its revision.
- The Council and the Parliament added the HKC to the list of conventions listed under the environmental parameters of the ship risk profile.
ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME DIRECTIVE
The Directive aims to crack down on environmental crime, fulfilling a key commitment of the European Green Deal.
- After six months of trilogue negotiations, the EU co-legislators finalized the elements of the revised ECD.
- The agreement still needs to be confirmed by both co-legislators before going through the formal adoption procedure
NET ZERO INDUSTRY ACT (NZIA)
The NZIA aims to establish a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products deployment and manufacturing capacity.
- The Council’s at its session recognized the need to boost the production on sustainable alternative fuels for maritime.
- Inter-institutional negotiations with the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission are ongoing in view of finalizing the text by end of February 2024.
Kind regards
Emmanuel Vergetis
Regional Representative
Athens- Greece
