Response of the Port of Rotterdam to the draft report of
the Committee on Transport and Tourism on a
European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility
With 80 terminals, 3,000 companies, 180,000 (direct and indirect) jobs and an added value of
approximately €21 billion (3.2% of the GNP of the Netherlands), the Port of Rotterdam forms the
economic hotspot of the Netherlands and Europe. Every year 30,000 ocean-going vessels and
110,000 inland vessels call at the port, making Rotterdam the gateway to the European market. Due
to our central role in the logistics chain, the Port of Rotterdam wants to play a role in reducing the
environmental footprint of transport, not only in the port itself through the World Ports Climate
Initiative (WPCI)1, but also by developing smart solutions for maritime, road and inland transport to
improve the sustainability and efficiency of logistics and transport chains.
The Port of Rotterdam welcomes the Commission’s Communication on ‘A European Strategy for Low
Emission Mobility’ and the Motion for a European Parliament resolution on a European Strategy for
Low-Emission Mobility. With this response, we would like to highlight our thoughts with regard to the
draft report of rapporteur Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA) of the TRAN committee in the European
Parliament. The priorities for the Port of Rotterdam regarding the decarbonisation of transport in
Europe can be summarised as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Enhancing the TEN-T network for optimising and decarbonising European transport
Introduction of a European system for the pricing of CO₂ emissions of all transport modes
Development of a comprehensive cross-border alternative fuel infrastructure
Recognition of the CO₂ reduction potential of sustainable biofuels
Enhancing the sustainability of maritime transport
Enhancing the TEN-T network for optimising and decarbonising European transport
Rotterdam is located on three of the nine core corridors in the Trans-European Transport Network
(Rhine-Alpine, North Sea-Baltic and North Sea-Mediterranean). The Port of Rotterdam collaborates
actively in strengthening the core network and promoting the modal split in favour of clean rail and
inland shipping modalities. For the Rhine-Alpine corridor, the Port of Rotterdam participates in a
regional partnership (EGTC) to promote territorial cohesion and clean European transport along the
corridor.
We are in favour of preserving European co-financing (via CEF) since this is crucial for the timely
realisation of the TEN-T network by 2030. Limiting the European Fund for Strategic Investments
(EFSI), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to
initiatives that contribute to climate action could be considered, but should not lead to less
investments in transport networks. Next to traditional infrastructure (hardware) investments, the
European Commission has taken the initiative to identify how to optimise the use of existing
infrastructure (by means of implementing the right ‘software’ in transport networks) to improve
efficiency and cleaner transport options. This can be achieved by, inter alia, encouraging efficient use
of multimodal connections, using transport data and ICT applications, supporting innovative driving
solutions such as platooning and investing in a clean fuel infrastructure along the corridor. We agree
that climate impact should be considered in the process of European co-financing, but we stress that
this should be done in an integrated way with the existing Trans-European Transport Network policy.
1
http://wpci.iaphworldports.org
Pagina 1 / 3
Introduction of a European system for the pricing of CO₂ emissions
The Port of Rotterdam agrees with the rapporteur that clearer price signals and polluter-pays
principles are necessary to ensure a level-playing field between different transport modes in Europe.
Ultimately, the Port of Rotterdam envisages an integrated system for internalising all external costs
for all modes of transport. To achieve this, a step-by-step approach is necessary beginning with the
internalisation of climate change costs related to transport. By putting a price on climate impact, and
more specifically on the CO₂ emissions of all transport modes, stakeholders in the transport sector
are incentivised to make use of the most sustainable modes of transport, efficient transport
infrastructures and cleaner transport fuels. This would reduce the climate effects of transport activity
and moreover improve the fairness between different transport modes.
We agree that the forthcoming revision of the Eurovignette Directive should include charging based
on CO₂ emissions. However, differentiated charging on the basis of CO₂ emissions should in our
view be applied to all modes of transport and not be limited to road transport only to enhance a
multimodal level playing field and an optimal modal split in European transport. In the design of a
European CO₂ charging system, the specific characteristics of the modality concerned should be
taken into account and the revenues should be earmarked for investments in CO₂ reduction within
that sector.
Development of a comprehensive cross-border alternative fuel infrastructure
In the draft resolution on a European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility the rapporteur supports an
interoperable infrastructure for electric vehicle charging only. The Port of Rotterdam stresses that the
prospects for low-emissions fuels differ among transport modes and that electrification is currently
not an option for heavy and long distance road transport, maritime transport and inland navigation.
For this reason, other clean alternatives must be actively stimulated in order to move heavy road and
waterborne transport towards lower emission alternatives.
In its strategy on low emission mobility, the European Commission stresses that in the medium term
sustainable biofuels will be important for aviation and LNG is increasingly used as an alternative for
marine fuels in shipping and for diesel in trucks. The Port of Rotterdam asks for a comprehensive
approach to stimulate the use of cleaner transport fuels, aligned with the existing European
Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Directive (Directive 2014/94/EU). This means not only supporting a
comprehensive and interoperable infrastructure for electric vehicle charging, but also for LNG for
heavy-duty vehicles, maritime and inland transport, electricity at shore-side and hydrogen for
Member States who choose to develop it. This should be done specifically along the TEN-T network
to promote modal integration and to facilitate sustainable transport within Europe’s core networks.
Recognition of the CO₂ reduction potential of sustainable biofuels
With regard to the discussion on the phase-out food based biofuels after 2020, we stress the
important role that biofuels play in decarbonising European transport. Biofuels can contribute to
reducing the CO₂ footprint of the transport sector and are a qualified alternative for fossil fuels. By
phasing out all food-based biofuels without distinguishing between different types of biofuels (with a
high or a low risk on Indirect Land Use Change, ILUC), Europe is discouraging new investments in
the development and production of advanced biofuels. For certified sustainable biofuels with a high
CO₂ reduction potential and a low risk of ILUC, Europe must ensure that room for innovation remains
to make the transition towards even more advanced sustainable biofuels. The proposal to phase out
all first-generation biofuels hampers the development of cleaner transport fuels and sustainable
alternatives to fossil fuels with the ultimate risk that the Paris climate goals are not met.
2
Enhancing the sustainability of maritime transport
As maritime shipping is a global industry and climate change is a global challenge, the Port of
Rotterdam strongly believes that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is the right level to
address the issue of reducing CO₂ emissions from shipping. However, we believe that the European
Union can and should take responsibility for achieving concrete and timely results by creating the
right incentives and pressure for IMO to deliver. We agree with the rapporteur that, in the absence of
international agreement in 2023 on effective measures to mitigate emissions in the international
maritime sector, shipping should be included in the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).
In order to not interfere with the roadmap of IMO, that foresees the adoption of an initial strategy on
reduction of GHG emissions from ships in 2018 and the adoption of a revised strategy in 2023, the
Port of Rotterdam stresses that the timeline in the revised EU ETS should be fully aligned with the
IMO roadmap. This means that the date of 2021 should be removed from the revised EU ETS and
that progress at IMO level should be reviewed in 2023 in order to decide whether or not shipping
should be included in the EU ETS. In addition, an obligation for IMO to deliver clear reduction targets
in 2018 should be added, on which short and medium term CO₂ reduction measures can be based.
To address current market barriers to ship efficiency and lower emissions, the rapporteur stresses
that the transparency requirements and the real transport work data in the EU Monitoring, Reporting,
Verification (MRV) system should be preserved if and when the EU decides to align its system with
IMO’s Data Collection System (DCS). The Port of Rotterdam stresses the importance of
transparency to move to lower emissions in global shipping. However, we believe that a mandatory
global data collection scheme is preferred to a regional scheme to ensure data reporting and
ultimately to implement measures to reduce emissions of the entire international shipping sector. The
question of whether this data will be transparent or not should not hamper the development towards
a global data collection system and, even more important, should not lead to double reporting
requirements for the shipping sector and/or administrative burden for port authorities.
More information
For more information regarding the position of the Port of Rotterdam, additional figures or
background information, please contact:
Kirsten Zondervan
Advisor European Affairs
T: +31 (0) 10 252 1623
E: [email protected]
3