Read key takeaways from panel on EU-Norway Green Alliance by AEC Chairman Kai Simon Eikli Yuen at the Arctic Frontiers event in Brussels. #Arctic
I had a great time in the discussion panel “Developments in maritime/energy tech and cooperation under the EU-Norway Green Alliance”, organized by Arctic Frontiers in Brussels. My key messages 👇 1️⃣ We have the technology to decarbonize shipping! What we don’t have is a market structure that gives zero emission fuels a chance. To speed things up, the ongoing negotiations on climate measures in the IMO must result in a pricing mechanism for CO2 emissions in international waters. Let shipowners pay for their emissions, then use those revenues to minimize the price gap between fossil fuels and zero emission fuels. The EU ETS shows us that this can work in practice – shipowners have been paying for emissions through this scheme since Jan. 1st this year. It has proven itself transparent, fair and not overly encumbered by red tape – it’s just too bad that it’s limited to Europe, as shipping is global. And while we’re glad that Norway is part of the EU ETS, it is unfortunate that the revenues raised by the Norwegian government are not reinvested into a green maritime transition, as EU member states are obliged to do. We could move much faster if the Norwegian government used both the stick *and* the carrot. 2️⃣ Streamline regulations! The integrity of a single European market is key. While Norway has access to this market through the EEA agreement, this is based on the premise of common rules and regulations. The backlog of EU regulations that should have been integrated by Norway is not only long, but also covers essential energy market regulations like the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II of 2018). This lack of market integrity presents a real regulatory risk that undermines our most important trade agreement by far. The uncertainty stemming from the backlog is significant, and could for example hamper our members’ engagement in developing Norwegian offshore wind farms. 3️⃣ What about the EU-Norway Green Alliance? I think it’s important to be clear that the alliance is essentially a platform for dialogue on green policies that lie *outside* of the EEA Agreement. This can certainly be nice to have. For instance, as the EEA doesn’t cover trade policy, Norwegian interests can be marginalized now that we’re seeing increasing trade rivalries in green industries. It's not unlikely that this could undermine our ability to contribute to a green transition in Europe in the near future. However, it is the EEA agreement which is the foundation of our connection to the European market, and it is under pressure right now. My thanks to Arctic Frontiers for organizing the event and to Anu Fredrikson for expertly moderating the session! Alina Kovalenko Markus Rautanen Oliver Wilson Jenny Turton
