canary islands ets shipping emissions flexibility

Canary Islands lead EU fight for fairer shipping emissions rules

Canary Islands lead charge for fairer EU shipping emissions rules

The Canary Islands, together with ultra-peripheral regions of France and Portugal, demanded flexibility from the EU on Tuesday in the application of the ETS emissions trading system to maritime transport. They argue the current rules are damaging the competitiveness and connectivity of their ports compared with those of third countries.

Fighting for special treatment

The aim is to secure “different treatment” under the ETS that recognises the “exceptionality” of regions such as the Canary Islands, defined by their “remoteness and insularity”, said Pedro Suárez, president of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

“They compare us with territories like Malta and Cyprus. We feel they don’t really understand us. There is no clear understanding of what ultra-peripheral regions are, and that is our main challenge,” Beatriz Calzada, president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, told the press after two days of meetings in Brussels. This perceived lack of understanding in the EU capital has led the Canary Islands ports of Tenerife and Las Palmas to join forces with the French ultra-peripheral regions (RUP) of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Saint-Martin and Mayotte, as well as the Portuguese regions of the Azores and Madeira, to “present a united front” ahead of the ETS review scheduled for July.

How the ETS affects shipping

The European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), when applied to maritime transport, has since 2024 required shipping companies operating in EU ports to pay for CO2 rights covering part of the emissions from their voyages. The mechanism covers 100% of emissions on routes between European ports and 50% on journeys between the EU and third countries. This cost, according to the ultra-peripheral ports, is incentivising the diversion of traffic to non-EU hubs in North Africa or the United Kingdom, which do not apply such charges.

“It is making us lose competitiveness and connectivity, primarily in the Canary Islands, but it also affects other ports in different EU nations. We have created this association to put pressure on the European Union so they understand our reality, which on many occasions when we have come here is completely unknown,” said Suárez.

Risk to island life and supply chains

The Canary Islands import 85% of the goods they consume, almost all by sea. Therefore, any measure that “penalises” this maritime traffic would mean a “higher cost of living” in the archipelago, the port authorities maintain.

“We could even run the risk of goods not reaching our ports, of them being relocated, of shipping companies, the various lines and operators, deciding to leave our cargo in ports where, for example, ETS fees are not paid,” added the Gran Canaria port chief.

The fear is that shipping companies will start using ports in North Africa, which are “extremely well developed” – such as Tangier in Morocco – as well as in West Africa, with infrastructure that could absorb the traffic currently arriving in the Canary Islands.

“There is something I believe Europe is not seeing: it is shifting the entire logistics strategy from one continent to another and, as a result, will lose control of the goods that enter,” Calzada stressed.

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