European shipowners have urged the European Commission to prevent double carbon charges and redirect billions raised from shipping towards cleaner fuels and technology, warning that the EU Emissions Trading System must support the industry’s transition without weakening its competitiveness. 

In its policy demands, European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) described the continent’s fleet as a strategic asset that keeps goods, food and energy moving into and out of Europe. 

While the EU accounts for around 15 per cent of global GDP, European shipowners control approximately 34.5 per cent of worldwide tonnage across the industry’s different segments, giving the bloc a much larger role in global shipping than its share of economic output. 

The intervention came before the Commission published its revised proposal last Friday. Maritime transport has been included in the EU carbon market since January 2024, with the current rules covering all ships above 5,000 gross tonnes entering EU ports, irrespective of flag. 

Under the system, shipping companies must surrender allowances for 100 per cent of emissions produced between EU ports and within ports, as well as 50 per cent of emissions from voyages between the EU and third countries. 

At the centre of ECSA’s demands was the relationship between the European framework and any future global carbon measure agreed through the International Maritime Organisation. The association called for a clear review clause requiring EU legislation to be reassessed and withdrawn once an IMO agreement is adopted, shielding companies from double regulation and double payments. 

It also pressed Brussels to ensure that money collected from the industry is channelled back into its decarbonisation. According to a recent ECSA analysis, shipping generates up to €9 billion annually for EU and national budgets through the carbon market. 

ECSA argued that the revised legislation should require member states to use those revenues to narrow the cost difference between conventional and sustainable fuels, increase the availability of cleaner alternatives and finance new maritime technology. 

That support must be substantial, it added, because sustainable fuels remain around four times more expensive than conventional marine fuels. The level of assistance already offered to aviation should therefore become the starting point for shipping rather than the ceiling. 

At the same time, the association called for broader eligibility for clean technology funding. The Commission’s Industrial Accelerator Act recognises net-zero technologies capable of improving energy efficiency and delivering immediate emission reductions, and ECSA argued that the full range of such projects should receive support, including upgrades that can cut emissions from vessels already in service. 

Safeguarding competition was another central concern. Any measures intended to strengthen EU ports must preserve the integrity of the carbon market and maintain a level playing field across every shipping segment, rather than favouring particular vessel types or activities. 

ECSA also sought stronger protection for routes serving small islands, outermost regions and ice-bound areas. Existing derogations should be extended and made automatic, mandatory and fit for purpose, it argued, reflecting the limited transport alternatives available to vulnerable regions. 

Finally, the association called for closer alignment between EU ETS obligations and FuelEU Maritime, saying duplicate reporting requirements place an unnecessary administrative burden on shipping companies. 

Following the proposal’s publication, ECSA welcomed plans to reserve 110 million allowances, worth about €10 billion, for maritime decarbonisation and simplify reporting. However, it warned that the package still offered insufficient support for clean technology, extended key derogations only until 2035 and stopped short of promising to withdraw the EU system once a global IMO agreement is reached.