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ETS: Port of Rotterdam studies impact on ship behaviour; consultation opens for UK ETS
The Port of Rotterdam says the EU must consider the potential for ’evasive behaviour’ of ships and the competitive position of EU versus non-EU ports, while the UK Government is seeking ’stakeholder views’ on the development of its own carbon-trading programme
The Port of Rotterdam has commissioned CE Delft to investigate the proposed extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to the maritime sector and the subsequent impact on the competitive position of seaports.
According to the port, the extension of the ETS to shipping must take into account the potential for evasive behavior and its impact on the competitiveness of EU seaports compared with non-EU ports.
Based on the likely extension of the EU’s ETS carbon trading programme to shipping, a CE Delft study investigated the cost-benefit analysis for five scenarios of potential port evasion based on financial inputs including fuel and port costs.
CE Delft’s cost-benefit analysis includes scenarios around ship routeing such as vessels adding an extra port from outside the EU to a trading route, or vessels sailing to a neighboring non-EU seaport instead of directly to an EU seaport.
"CE Delft concludes that evasive behavior is realistic, even when the ETS price is relatively low," the Port of Rotterdam said on its website.
According to the port, the study demonstrates that when an extra port such as Felixstowe in the UK is added to a trading route between China and Europe, there are potentially 18 scenarios in which port evasion could be cost-efficient for ships.
"This is already the case with an average ETS price of €67 (US$74). In case of a port shift from Algeciras (Spain) to Tangier (Morocco), the evasion of the EU ETS is profitable in 27 of the 36 scenarios that were studied," the Port of Rotterdam said.
"The Port of Rotterdam is asking European policymakers to conduct a broad impact assessment into the effects of a shipping ETS on European ports before including shipping in the EU ETS. Only if shipping actually pays for the pollution it causes, can more sustainable shipping be achieved."
The UK Government has announced it is opening a consultation period on the development of its own emissions trading scheme, the UK ETS.
The UK ETS Authority, made up of the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, said it is seeking stakeholder views on proposals to develop the UK ETS which operates across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The UK said the consultation is open to all, but that it is expected to be of particular interest to individual companies and representatives of industrial, power and aviation sectors with obligations under the UK ETS environmental groups as well as representatives from the maritime, waste, greenhouse gas removals and agricultural sectors.
Within the proposed policy that is up for review, Chapter 7 sets out proposals to expand the scope of the UK ETS to the domestic maritime sector.
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