After two years of intense negotiations, today the EU has adopted the final rules for climate-neutral shipping, as proposed in the ambitious climate package “Fit for 55”. Particularly, the requirement for the climate footprint of fuels, with the adoption of FuelEU Maritime, is crucial to achieving climate-neutral shipping by 2050. Additionally, the EU has established regulations for shore power in ports.

There is no longer any debate about the rules that will apply to ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases when they sail between EU ports or to and from an EU port.

The Council of the European Union has just adopted FuelEU Maritime, and with today’s approvals, virtually all pieces of the puzzle for regulating shipping’s climate impact have fallen into place. Now, only the accompanying more detailed technical implementing acts and the directive on renewable energy remain, but the political aspect has largely been finalized and adopted.

“It can sometimes be challenging to see the final result when negotiating vast and complex EU regulations like Fit for 55. But now, it is very clear how shipping will be regulated and how shipping will contribute to EU climate neutrality by 2050. This provides shipping companies, investors, and fuel producers with something to navigate by so that we can accelerate the green transition,” says Jacob K. Clasen, Deputy Director General and Deputy CEO of Danish Shipping.

The purpose of the Fit for 55 package is to reduce the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The political agreement means that shipping will be covered by the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) from 2024 and FuelEU Maritime from 2025, with shipping companies gradually reducing the climate impact of fuels. Additionally, there will be rules for the infrastructure of alternative fuels, including requirements for using shore power in selected larger ports.

“There is political momentum in green shipping at the moment. We have just witnessed member states of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) reach a global climate agreement for shipping. This would not have happened without the efforts and ambitious climate package of the EU, which is now finalized. It will drive investments in green ships and motivate the accelerated production of green fuels for vessels,” says Jacob K. Clasen, Deputy Director General and Deputy CEO of Danish Shipping.