Page 6 - European Energy Innovation - Autumn 2016 publication

Autumn 2016 European Energy Innovation

6 PORTS

The way forward after COP 21

By Knut Fleckenstein, MEP

The goals are ambitious: The IMO and push for progress there. Slow better for the environment than road
commitment the EU has but inclusive progress can be worth transport. Yet, the major volumes are
made in Paris at the COP 21 more than unilateral attempts, which still transported by road.
of lowering the greenhouse are bound to fail.
gas emissions by 40% by 2030 goes In order to facilitate and push for a
beyond the objectives of the 2011 There are some policy areas however, modal shift towards short sea shipping
White Paper on transport. Achieving where the EU can and should act in and inland shipping, we need a
the White Paper’s objectives would order to improve efficiency and lower fully functioning internal market for
mean that emissions from international emissions. Maritime transport and rail shipping. In contrast to the other
waterborne transport would only be are two modes, which are considerably transport modes, there are many
9.5% below the 1990 level in 2050.

Whereas maritime transport produces
less emissions than other transport
modes, growing transport volumes
have led to a substantial increase in
emissions over the past decades. As the
volumes are expected to keep growing,
it is clear that the environmental foot
print has to be reduced considerably.

We need a comprehensive approach
that does not only focus on ports but
the whole transport system and that
includes all stakeholders along the
logistic chain. Shipping is of major
strategic importance for the EU’s
economy. Therefore we need to strike
the challenging balance between
pushing for a greener framework
and safeguarding the sector’s
competitiveness.

Yes, progress in the IMO is sometimes
painfully slow, but I am still convinced
that it is the right setting to deal
with environmental issues. Unilateral
decisions by the EU risk not to be
implemented or to shift the competitive
edge of our industry elsewhere. Take
ETS and aviation for instance, we are
just moving from one “stop the clock”
to the next.

Discussions for developing a market-
based measure for aviation are
underway on the international level.
Concerning the maritime sector, he EU
as well as its individual member states
need to be strong players within the

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