EMEA News
Who Pays ETS Carbon Cost Needs Addressing: Lawyer
Settling the question of which entity will be entered on the European Union's (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) registry will need "proactive and cooperative discussions between the owners, charterers and ship managers", a maritime lawyer has said.
"The parties will need to agree in advance, contractually, who will bear ETS responsibility, or how ETS responsibility will be apportioned between them," Valentina Keys, senior associate with Watson, Farley & Williams told Ship & Bunker.
Keys comments come after the World Shipping Council has questioned the validity of proposed amendments for including shippng in the ETS.
The council has said that making the overall commercial operator responsible for carrying the carbon cost dilutes the principle of 'the polluter pays'.
Widening responsibility for the cost of carbon in any contract is one of the proposed amendments coming from the European Parliament's lead on the issue, Peter Liese.
But Keys said that "despite the obvious ambiguities, the proposed amendment must be read in the context of the Fit for 55 package as a whole". Fit for 55 refers to the EU policy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.
ETS amendments willnot be decided on until the summer. However, EU maritime observers agree that one way or another, shipping will form part of the ETS package.
