Industry groups urge EU to channel ETS funds into green fuels

A cross-industry joint statement has urged the European Commission to redirect annual revenues collected through the EU and national emissions trading systems (ETS) towards shipping and aviation decarbonisation.

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The statement was issued by trade bodies European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA) and Airlines for Europe (A4E).

According to the letter, shipping contributes around €9 billion ($10 billion) annually to the EU ETS, while aviation contributes a further €2 billion ($2 billion)/year.

The organisations argued that this combined annual revenue of around €11 billion ($12 billion) should be redirected towards “derisking” investments in low- and zero-emission fuels and technologies for the shipping and aviation sectors.

“The European Commission should require EU Member States to earmark at least part of their ETS revenues for the uptake and availability of sustainable fuels for shipping and aviation, and to incentivise them to top up any existing EU mechanisms with national ETS revenues,” the statement said.

By Konica Bhatt

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