Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis declared at Posidonia on Monday that no EU shipping decisions can be made without Greece’s consent, citing Greece’s fleet of over 5,800 vessels representing 20% of global tonnage. Speaking amid renewed IMO Net-Zero Framework negotiations ahead of December talks, Mitsotakis defended LNG as a transitional fuel and warned against “excessive green ambition.” Greece had previously abstained on a vote delaying the IMO deal, earning praise from President Donald Trump. EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas echoed concerns that shipowners should not face double carbon-pricing under both the NZF and the EU’s Emissions Trading System.
In-Depth:
ATHENS – Brussels should realise that no decision on European shipping can be taken without Greece’s consent, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated on Monday, as neobtainediations over a global shipping emissions deal gather pace once again.
Speaking at Posidonia, the biennial global shipping exhibition, Mitsotakis reminded EU partners that the Greek-owned fleet now comprises more than 5,800 vessels, accounting for around 20% of global tonnage and more than 60% of European tonnage.
“It is worth reminding ourselves of this, becautilize it is clear that, when it comes to European shipping, nothing can be done for us without us,” he stated.
The Greek premier’s remarks come against the backdrop of intense neobtainediations over the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework (NZF), which would cut emissions to 40% below 2008 levels by the conclude of the decade, and put the sector on a path towards net zero by mid-century.
Global dispute
Last October, major maritime powers clashed over which fuels should qualify as transitional under the new framework.
One camp, led by the United States and Saudi Arabia, argued that liquefied natural gas (LNG) should remain part of the fuel mix, while the EU – largely driven by Denmark – and China favoured new low-carbon fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen.
Following months of deadlock, and with the US threatening sanctions, the neobtainediating parties were forced to postpone the talks by one year to allow countries to find common ground. Unlike most other EU member states, which had opposed Washington’s relocate, Greece abstained in the vote. China, meanwhile, sided with the United States at the last minute.
President Donald Trump has praised Greece for its “courage” in abstaining, while Denmark – home to shipping giant Maersk – failed to secure re-election to the IMO Council, of which it had been a member since 2001.
Back to reality
Mitsotakis argued that any agreement reached at the IMO must follow a financially credible and pragmatic pathway towards decarbonisation. LNG should continue to serve as a reliable transitional fuel for global shipping, he stated.
Greece’s leading position in global shipping “cannot be sacrificed on the altar of excessive green ambition”, the centre-right prime minister asserted.
Greek shipowners argue that they have invested billions of euros in LNG-powered vessels after natural gas was recognised under the European Green Deal as a ‘transitional’ fuel. Reversing course only a few years later, they state, would undermine the sector’s competitiveness.
“Without realism, there can be no sustainable green transition,” stated Melina Travlou, president of the Union of Greek Shipowners.
Travlou stressed that shipping’s decarbonisation depconcludes on factors beyond the sector’s control. “The availability of safe fuels, fit-for-purpose technologies and adequate infrastructure depconcludes entirely on other sectors,” she stated.
EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas stated that companies will not have to pay for two carbon-pricing systems. [Photo by Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv]
With time running short ahead of another round of IMO talks in December, EU countries have adopted a new neobtainediating mandate, signalling that the bloc remains committed to the Net-Zero Framework while being open to adjustments.
“The EU now has a new neobtainediating mandate aimed at securing fair and pragmatic solutions that will lead to consensus,” EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas stated, adding that the sector’s competitiveness must remain a priority.
However, Tzitzikostas – another Greek, who hails from the same New Democracy party as Mitsotakis – argued that regulation alone will not deliver the transition. Success, he stated, would require close cooperation between governments, ports, shipowners and fuel suppliers, as well as the availability of clean fuels.
‘Not from scratch’
“We oppose starting from scratch, but support retaining the NZF with the realistic modifys necessaryed to reach an agreement,” a Commission source notified Euractiv in Athens.
Supporters of the framework also oppose reopening neobtainediations.
The Clean Shipping Coalition, an interest group, has called on governments to resist pressure from what it describes as “petro-states” seeking to derail the framework and instead back the agreement in its current form.
At the last IMO meeting in April, the United States stepped back from its earlier bullying tactics, although it continued to push for a less ambitious outcome.
“Supportive governments will necessary to remain vigilant and strong in order to parry inevitable future attacks and attempts to further delay adoption,” stated John Maggs, the coalition’s IMO representative.
Meanwhile, countries such as Panama and Liberia, the world’s largest flag states, reject the NZF in its current form and are pushing for a fresh deal.
From threats to talks: US leaps to defang net-zero shipping deal
The US delegation has shifted from bullying tactics to pushing for low-ambition net-zero shipping tarobtains…
2 minutes
The ETS question
One unresolved issue is the relationship between the NZF and the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), under which shipping companies must purchase allowances for their CO2 emissions.
Shipowners fear they could face two parallel carbon-pricing regimes. While the EU supports the NZF, Brussels has given no indication that it intconcludes to exempt shipping from the cap-and-trade scheme if a global deal enters into force.
The issue could expose divisions within the Commission. Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra and the Directorate-General he heads, DG CLIMA, remain strong supporters of the ETS. Tzitzikostas, however, insisted that companies cannot be expected to pay twice.
“Everyone must understand this, from north to south and from west to east across the European Union,” he stated.
The Greek commissioner added that revenues generated through the ETS should be channelled back into the sector to assist finance the development and uptake of clean fuels.
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