EU Transport Commissioner: Clean Industrial Deal should ‘pave the way for a Sustainable Transport Investment Plan’

The European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, has said that the current European Union (EU) regulatory framework designed to promote the uptake of renewable and low-carbon fuels is ‘not stimulating market investment at a level we want and we need’ – but he added that the new Clean Industrial Deal due later this month should ‘set the stage for a robust and competitive sustainable European industry’.

Speaking at the Transport & Environment (T&E) online event From the Green Deal to the Clean Industrial Deal yesterday (18 February), Commissioner Tzitzikostas set the Clean Industry Deal should ‘pave the way’ for a Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) which he believed ‘should include both short and medium-term measures to better encourage support for the specific renewable and low-carbon fuels that aviation and waterborne transport need’.

He continued: ‘These could include actions to prioritise fuel projects under existing programmes, such as Horizon Europe, the Innovation Fund and InvestEU. And it could involve the European Investment Bank and other financial institutions to become more involved, mitigating risks for private investors.’

The Transport Commissioner added that: ‘To support the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan, this year we will make available additional €570 million under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility for the roll-out of alternative fuels infrastructure for road, maritime, inland waterways, and air transport.’

Meanwhile, the SASHA Coalition has today published a new position paper in which it makes the case for focusing on ‘green hydrogen solutions’ in order to decarbonise shipping and aviation ‘at the speed and scale that the climate crisis requires’.

In a statement sent to ship.energy this morning, the SASHA Coalition said that it is calling for a Clean Industrial Deal that:

• Strengthens e-fuel sub-mandates and makes FuelEU Maritime targets legally binding.

• Creates a market for zero emission flight (ZEF) by introducing a legally binding mandate.

• Expands the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to ‘include international (not just intra-bloc) aviation and non-CO2 emissions’.

• Ensures the STIP provides ‘ambitious e-fuel support mechanisms, namely a contract for difference scheme to support production’.

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