Event recap: ISCC Stakeholder Meeting on Sustainable Marine Fuels

Representatives of the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System GmbH welcomed more than 300 stakeholders Feb. 1 to their second ISCC Stakeholder Meeting on Sustainable Marine Fuels.

Held online, the event dove deep into the state of the market and how certified sustainable marine fuels are expected to support the sector’s quest to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. 

The maritime sector has a considerable impact on the environment.

The industry is set to reverse this trend and mitigate this impact through, for instance, an increased use of sustainable marine fuels that meets stringent sustainability requirements.

At the stakeholder meeting, expert speakers from the regulatory, certification, port-infrastructure and fuel-supply sides of the sector discussed this topic in more detail and outlined how to turn the maritime sector into a less carbon-intense one.

Status quo

Gernot Klepper, former chairman of the ISCC board, opened the meeting with a clear statement. 

“Shipping accounts for around 2 percent of global GHG emissions and 11 percent of global transport emissions,” Klepper said.

Given the industry’s contribution to global emissions, it is crucial to find sustainable alternatives, some of which were subsequently presented.

One impactful mechanism supporting sustainable change in the sector is the lifecycle assessment framework developed by the International Maritime Organization and optimized for the use in future IMO policies.

Camille Bourgeon provided an update of the respective GHG-emission reduction policy, addressed the scope of the framework, system boundaries, the lifecycle-analysis methodology and the certification by distinct schemes.  

Further on the status quo of the market, Ricardo Batista from the European Commission presented another instrument key to the decarbonization of the sector: The FuelEU maritime regulation.

Batista focused on the fuel types covered under the regulation, how GHGs are measured and how compliance is assured. 

Stefka Wechsler, a marine fuel price analyst at Argus, shared an overview of the sustainable marine fuels global price trend and changes in demand. 

Following Wechsler, Naomi van den Berg from the Port of Rotterdam further shared how sustainable marine fuels can be integrated into existing infrastructures and how ports help scaling up and facilitating the use of sustainable marine fuels.

Certified sustainable marine fuels

Although the demand for bio blends is not yet taking off at the desired speed and volume, shifting to sustainable alternatives to fossil and carbon-intense fuels will be crucial to cut GHG emissions.

In the second keynote of the day, Thomas René Bock, ISCC’s maritime team lead, elaborated on how the industry can get there from a certification perspective.

He provided an overview of the certifications available for sustainable marine fuels, their benefits and the role of the distinct stakeholders and ISCC in particular. 

Policies driven by IMO and the EU, which pursue the goal to reduce emissions from shipping through increasing­­­ the use of alternative marine fuels, incentivize stakeholders to produce, supply and use certified alternative marine fuels.

A crucial factor for the stakeholders is a proper and reliable certification scheme.

“We provide three different certification schemes to assess conformity with sustainability regulatory frameworks, such as the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and ICAO CORSIA,” Bock explained. “Two of our schemes are applicable for the maritime industry. They provide an effective instrument to ensure feedstock sustainability, a verified reduction in lifecycle emissions, traceability and chain of custody along the fuel’s supply chain.” 

While the systems exist, there are hurdles to overcome before a market-wide scaling of sustainable marine fuel certifications.

However, Bock said ISCC has seen a considerable increase in certification demand and that ISCC is committed to collaborate with its stakeholders and contribute to the furtherance of the production, supply and use of sustainable marine fuels on a global scale.

Future outlook

In a closing panel discussion, panelists including Bock addressed the current market situation and where future developments might lead to.

Regarding future developments, they emphasized the importance of harmonizing policy instruments, concluding that both policy and certification requirements must be aligned where possible to allow for a smooth market scale-up of sustainable marine fuels.

Despite the challenges still to be overcome, the panelists said they are convinced that the use of sustainable marine fuels will be key in achieving the ambitious emission-reduction goals set for the sector.

For more details, check out the speaker presentations here.