20th April 2024 – 26th April 2024
LOCAL NEWS
No news reported.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. EU Net-Zero Industry Act: European shipowners welcome 40% production benchmark for clean shipping fuels in Europe
On the 25th April 2024, the last plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg for this five-year term adopted the “Net-Zero industry Act", already informally agreed upon with the Council, which sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of its annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030, based on National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and to capture 15% of the global market value for these technologies.
According to ECSA, the new law, which aims to scale up industrial capacity for green technologies, is a vital step to ensure that clean fuels for shipping are made available in the market at an affordable price, as a prerequisite for shipping to meet its target under the Fuel EU Maritime Regulation. Scaling up the production and uptake of clean fuels for shipping is considered a top priority for European shipping.
European shipowners strongly welcomed the inclusion of clean fuels for shipping, including advanced biofuels and e-fuels, in the list of net-zero technologies adopted today under the Net-Zero Industry Act.
ECSA stated that “European shipowners have consistently requested for a mandate on the European fuel suppliers to scale up and make clean, affordable and safe fuels available in the market. Matching European fuel industrial capacity with the EU targets under the FuelEU Maritime is essential. We welcome the 40% benchmark for the production of clean fuels such as advanced biofuels and e-fuels as a stepping stone towards an international scale-up of alternative sustainable fuels for shipping. We will work closely with the Commission to ensure that the 40% benchmark is translated into immediate action”.
It is considered that the legislation will encourage funding from national Emission Trading System (ETS) revenues and for most strategic projects through the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), and it is a step towards a European Sovereignty fund.
Furthermore, the Commission proposed a coordinated withdrawal by the European Union and its member states, as it considers the Treaty to be no longer compatible with the EU’s climate goals under the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement, predominantly due to concerns over continued fossil fuel investments.
“The Energy Charter Treaty allows fossil fuel multinationals to sue states and the European Union if climate policies affect their profits. In the midst of a climate crisis, this is a contradiction, in addition to being very costly for taxpayers” commented Rapporteur for the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, Mr. Marc Botenga.
Related Articles:
Europarl 25/04 - MEPs adopt plans to boost Europe’s Net-Zero technology production
ECSA 25/04 - European shipowners welcome EU Net-Zero Industry Act
Splash 26/04 - Shipowners welcome 40% production benchmark for clean shipping fuels in Europe
Euronews 25/04 - EU Policy. MEPs agree to give European clean tech manufacturing a boost
Safety4Sea 26/04 - EU boosts the uptake of green technologies and fuels for decarbonization
2. EU, Canada and UK target Iran with new round of sanctions
On the 22nd April 2024, the European Union has reached a political agreement to tighten sanctions on Iran in retaliation for the recent barrage launched against Israel.
The sanctions are designed to curtail the exports of EU-made components used in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, and ballistic missiles.
Ministers, however, did not make any moves towards the listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, since such a designation requires first a judicial decision by a competent authority in any of the 27 member states, which is then used as the legal basis for an EU-wide decision.
According to Politico, Germany had been pushing hard for weeks for additional export restrictions of dual use goods to disrupt Iran’s production of drones and missiles. France also backed additional sanctions.
Furthermore, on the 25th April 2024, UK, in coordination with the US and Canada, announced further sanctions targeting Iran’s drone and missile industries.
In addition, the UK has also announced its plan to expand trade sanctions against the regime by introducing new bans on the export of components used in drone and missile production to Iran. These measures seek to deny Iran access to the components it needs to develop these weapons, limiting its military capabilities.
Related Articles:
Euronews 22/04 - EU countries agree to slap new sanctions on Iran
Europarl 25/04 - Parliament condemns Iran’s attack on Israel and calls for de-escalation
Reuters 23/04 - Iran's foreign minister calls EU sanctions 'regrettable'
Politico 22/04 - EU to slap new sanctions on Iran
Gov UK 25/04 - UK targets Iran’s ability to launch drones through new round of sanctions
3. US TREASURY REPORT
The US Treasury Report for all actions reported is hereby attached.
Related Article:
Attachment 1: US Treasury Report for week 20/04/2024 - 26/04/2024
4. PIRACY REPORT
The Piracy Report for all actions reported is hereby attached.
Related Article:
Attachment 2: Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report, for the period between 27 March – 24 April 2024
Nothing important to report from IMO, ILO and Parliament of Representatives.