This study examines which maritime economic activities could be considered environmentally sustainable according to the EU Taxonomy Regulation. To establish a broader context, it first analyses recent developments in the maritime shipping sector and examines state-of-the-art decarbonisation technologies. To better understand the diversity of activities that can contribute to one or more of the Regulation’s environmental objectives, the study maps the relevant economic activities according to their NACE codes as well as their potential impacts on those objectives. Based on these considerations, the study discusses general principles for setting technical screening criteria for the sector and proposes specific criteria.
The primary focus of the study is on activities that substantially contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation objectives. In order to assess the impacts of different levels of stringency in the criteria, a high-level market assessment is performed discussing the impacts of different scenarios on green finance supply and demand. The need for monitoring to ensure that potential claims of greenwashing are avoided is discussed along with the costs and benefits of such monitoring. Finally, the characteristics of shipping finance are discussed, with a focus on the potential for scaling up green finance in the maritime sector.
CE Delft contributed to this study, which was led by COWI.