Joint Statement – Airlines 4 Europe (A4E) & European Shipowners | ECSA

Ahead of the publication of the STIP – Sustainable Transport Investment Plan, A4E and European Shipowners reiterate our call to the European Commission and national governments to ensure bold action in the STIP to accelerate the availability of affordable clean maritime and aviation fuels and support production in Europe.

The STIP must be ambitious and must set out firm commitments and concrete actions to make clean fuels available for European shipowners and airlines:

• Invest EU and national ETS revenues back into the decarbonisation of shipping and aviation
• Strengthen production capacity in Europe and bridge the price gap
• Give aviation and maritime priority access to clean fuels
• Simplify access to the EU Innovation Fund

Shipping and aviation are the hardest to decarbonise transport sectors, and are essential to Europe’s economic competitiveness, connectivity, energy independence and security. Accelerating the availability of affordable clean fuels for our sectors is essential to maintain this global competitive edge.

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Background information:

Find our previous Joint Declaration on STIP here.

For press and media enquiries, please contact:

European Shipowners | ECSA: Luisa Puccio, luisa.puccio@ecsa.eu, +32 492 73 36 23

A4E: Ben Kennard, ben.kennard@a4e.eu, +32 485 88 66 44

About us

European Shipowners | ECSA represents 22 national shipowners’ associations based in the EU and Norway. European shipowners control 35% of the global commercial fleet, contribute 127.8 billion euros per year to the EU GDP and provide 1.4 million people with careers both on board and ashore. ES|ECSA strives for a regulatory environment that fosters the international competitiveness of European shipping, to the benefit of the EU.

Airlines for Europe (A4E) is Europe’s largest airline association. Based in Brussels, A4E works with policymakers to ensure aviation policy continues to connect Europeans with the world in a safe, competitive and sustainable manner. With a modern fleet of over 3,700 aircraft, A4E airlines carried over 771 million passengers in 2024 and served nearly 2,800 destinations across Europe and the wider world. Each year, A4E members transport more than 54 million tonnes of vital goods and equipment either by freighters or passenger aircraft. Follow us on Twitter @A4Europe.