EU parliament urges carbon trading for shipping

2360, 13/07/07

A future European maritime policy should aim to include the shipping sector in the EU's carbon emission trading scheme (ETS), the European parliament said on Thursday.  The commission will propose a maritime strategy in October following a year-long consultation.

The idea of including the shipping sector in the ETS was absent from the commission's original proposals, which came in the form of a green paper drafted last year by European maritime affairs commissioner Joe Borg (EED 07/06/06 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/21114).

But the commission's environment department has been considering the idea for some time and in April a commission source told ENDS the move was almost certain to be proposed.  Since then, however, officials have insisted that trading is only one of several options being investigated.

In a resolution on the maritime policy adopted in Strasbourg on Thursday MEPs endorsed the green paper's integrated approach combining policies such as fisheries, marine environment and tourism.  They called for a "quality label" for ship safety and deep cuts in the amounts of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that vessels emit.

"This endorsement is fully in accordance with the overwhelming support that the commission's initiative has received from stakeholders and the other European institutions alike," Mr Borg said.

* Meanwhile EU ministers are expected shortly to rubber stamp their common position on an EU marine strategy directive following a political agreement in December.  This will launch a second reading by the European parliament, which has proposed a more environmentally ambitious text (EED 18/12/06 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/22284).

In the common position member states have set themselves an aspirational objective to achieve "good environmental status" of marine waters by 2021, which is in line with the European commission's proposal (EED 21/10/05 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/19671).  But MEPs want the target to be met by 2017 and for the objective to be made binding (EED 15/11/06 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/22051).

Follow-up: European parliament http://www.europarl.eu.int/, tel: +32 2 284 2111, plus a press release

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/062-9053-190-07-28-910-20070710IPR09041-09-07-2007-2007-false/default_en.htm, adopted text

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2007-0343+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN

and European commission press release

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1089&format=HTML. 

See also council common position on EU marine directive http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st09/st09388.en07.pdf.