European Shipowners — the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) — has called on EU policymakers to introduce supply-side obligations on fuel suppliers and redirect emissions trading revenues into clean fuel production, as the bloc prepares to revise its emissions trading system (ETS).

The industry body organised a Parliamentary Breakfast on 10 June, hosted by MEP Niels Flemming Hansen, bringing together policymakers, industry representatives and fuel suppliers to discuss the upcoming ETS revision and the energy transition of shipping.

ECSA outlined three key asks ahead of the revision. First, the association called for a global level playing field, arguing that European shipping operates internationally and requires international regulatory alignment. While welcoming the European Commission's commitment to avoid double payment for the maritime sector when global measures are adopted at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ECSA said the EU should go further and commit to withdrawing EU legislation once a global agreement is reached — a step it claims would support the international negotiation process.

Second, ECSA pointed to the scale of shipping's contribution to the EU ETS, which it says amounts to €9bn per year, and called on member states to direct national ETS revenues towards making clean fuels available in the market. According to ECSA, clean fuels are currently around four times more expensive than conventional fuels, and closing this price gap is, in the organisation's view, also a matter of energy security for Europe.

Third, the association called for a fuel supplier mandate, noting that shipping is the only transport sector without supply-side obligations requiring fuel suppliers to make clean fuels available.

Speakers at the event included Polona Gregorin, Head of Unit at DG CLIMA within the European Commission; Fanny Devaux, Director of Shipping at Transport & Environment (T&E); Sanne Frías Henriksen, Head of IMO and EU at A.P. Moller — Maersk; Sebastian Hirsz, Fuels Executive at FuelsEurope; and Lorenzo Matacena, CEO of Caronte & Tourist S.p.A. and Vice President of Confitarma — Confederazione Italiana Armatori.

The event took place against the backdrop of ongoing EU and IMO discussions on decarbonising the shipping sector, with the ETS revision presenting what ECSA sees as an opportunity to align regulatory frameworks and accelerate investment in alternative marine fuels.