ESPO welcomes the EU ETS, pointing out, however, the risk of ships not "calling" at EU ports to avoid the payments provided for by the system. In essence, ESPO, based on port activities, "photographs" the possibility of large container ships choosing ports outside the European Union in the Mediterranean and the North Sea, with what this will entail for the revenues of the system and also for the change that will occur in "loops" of the ships of the specific sector. Tax evasion of the EU Maritime ETS is a serious concern that continues to pose a threat to the credibility and robustness of the EU Maritime ETS. ESPO therefore calls on the Commission to start monitoring and effectively preventing carbon leakage and business from the EU ETS for shipping.
Any "evasion", as he puts it, will threaten the integrity of the ETS, leading to higher emissions from longer voyages, while not incentivizing shipping companies to green their operations. It will adversely affect employment and business activity in some EU ports and undermine their strategic role as transport, renewable energy and connectivity hubs. In fact, he notes that early action is vital, as changes in port traffic and reconfiguration of sea lanes are almost impossible to reverse once they occur.
It is a positive message that the political agreement takes into account the risks of "tax evasion", and ESPO appreciates that the Commission will monitor and report on the effects of the EU ETS on shipping on port traffic, "tax evasion ” in the ports and the traffic displacement of transshipment nodes. Europe's ports strongly argue that the Commission must act as soon as tax evasion is detected. ESPO also supports co-legislators' efforts to introduce a definition of "port of call", which would exclude stops at container transhipment ports neighboring the EU. However, this will not be enough to ensure that there cannot be tax evasion. Changes to traffic patterns and routes should not only cover +65% transhipment of neighboring ports, but all neighboring non-EU ports.
Finally, ESPO calls for the strategic use of revenues from the EU ETS, where decarbonising the sector will require significant investment in green port refueling and recharging infrastructure. ESPO welcomes the fact that revenue from the maritime ETS will support maritime decarbonisation through dedicated calls for proposals under the Innovation Fund, and calls for a significant proportion of the ETS revenue to be invested in ports EU through specific calls for proposals at EU and national level.
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