EMEA News
Malta's New Climate Plan to Mandate Biofuel Blending in Shipping
The Maltese government has presented an updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) to the European Commission this week, aimed at addressing climate change while promoting sustainable economic growth.
This updated NECP could lead to greenhouse emission reduction of 41% compared to 2005 levels by 2030, the Maltese government said in a statement on its website.
“Apart from efforts to electrify Malta’s transport fleet, an obligation to blend biofuels with road transport fuels will be extended to fuel suppliers in the maritime and aviation sectors,” local economist Shaun James Micallef Vassallo said in a LinkedIn post.
The new substitution obligation is still under discussion at a national level.
“Blending of biofuels via an obligation on fuel suppliers is also expected to contribute to Malta’s higher renewable energy ambition,” according to Malta’s updated NECP.
Biofuel bunker blends are mostly unavailable for shipping in Malta at present, a source told Ship & Bunker.
The country currently lacks biofuel production capacity, with most biodiesel and HVO imported being blended into road transport fuels.
