DecarboniseNow coalition calls on newly appointed European Commissioners Hoekstra and Kadis to end fossil fuel subsidies

04 December 2024

As part of the DecarboniseNow coalition, BLOOM has co-signed a letter calling on Mr Costas Kadis (European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans) and Mr Wopke Hoekstra (Commissioner for Climate, Carbon Neutrality and Clean Growth) to defend advocate the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies for European fishing vessels, and to support the social and ecological transition of the fishing sector.  

An unprecedented shift to the right  

After receiving formal approval from MEPs in a vote held on November 27 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the new European Commissioners officially took office on Sunday 1st  December November 1.  

Although they weree Commission was approved, it was only by a small majority (54% in favor). Ursula von der Leyen’s new Commission had only just been proposed, yet it was roundstrongly criticized not only for its clear right-wing bias (15 of the 27 portfolios were allocated to the EPP (European People’s Party), which is already the largest political force in the Parliament), but also for the fact that it was the first time that the far right had acceded to European executive power. Appointed Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms and Vice-President of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto is indeed a member of the Fratelli d’Italia (right wing) party, which also includes Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.  

Following their hearings Commissioners’ hearings on November 6 and 7, and at a time when Ursula von der Leyen seems inclined to call into question the achievements of the previous mandate, BLOOM has co-signed an open letter with the NGO members of the DecarboniseNow coalition (Client Earth, Oceana and Seas at Risk), addressed to European Commissioners Costas Kadis and Wopke Hoekstra, urging them to use all means at their disposal to initiate the social and ecological transition of European fisheries over the next five years.  

Five decisive years for the ocean and the climate  

Because it absorbs almost a third of our CO2 emissions, the ocean is one of the world’s main carbon sinks, and therefore contributes to climate regulation. But it is also suffering the direct consequences of climate change on a scale and at a pace never seen before: acidification, temperature rises and episodes of marine heatwaves, changes in currents, and so on.  

In turn, these major changes also contribute to the amplification of extreme phenomena, such as the deadly floods in Valencia. According to a report published by the US research institute Climate Central on November 20, record ocean temperatures are also increasing the speed of hurricanes. 

Unless strong, resolute action is taken, the “irreversible climate catastrophe” predicted by scientists could well occur. Without further delay, the European Union must act to protect and restore the ocean, as it is our main ally and a strategic lever for curbing climate disruption and reducing its devastating consequences for our societies.  

With this in mind, we need healthy, resilient marine ecosystems. Yet, according to a report published by the IPBES in 2019, fishing, and in particular industrial fishing, has been the leading cause of destruction of marine ecosystems over the past 50 years. 

As this term of office will therefore be decisive in the trajectory we take, BLOOM has published a 15-point program to save the ocean, the climate and livelihoods, to guide decision-makers and public action.  

The European Commission must defend the objectives set during the previous mandate  

Although the winds are blowing in the opposite direction, the European Union must hold to the direction it set itself with the Green Deal Pact under the previous mandate: to reduce its CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This is why BLOOM and the NGO members of the DecarboniseNow coalition are calling on Costas Kadis and Wopke Hoekstra to defend these objectives against those in the Parliament and Council who would be tempted to undermine them.  

The first priority will be to defend an ambitious reform of the Energy Taxation Directive to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, ensuring that the maritime sector (including fishing) and aviation are also included.  

Together, the aviation and shipping sectors are responsible for almost a third of transport emissions in the European Union. In the fishing sector, the latest available estimates show that the European fishing vessel fleet consumes 2.3 billion liters of fuel and emits 7.3 million tons of CO2 every year.  

However, this carbon footprint is largely underestimated, as it only takes into account the fuel consumed by vessels, whereas it should also include transport, refrigeration, processing, etc. Finally, indirect emissions generated by the contact of fishing devices with the seabed are not taken into account.  

As the fishing industry is neither subject to the European Emissions Trading Scheme nor to any international agreement imposing CO2 emission reductions, an absence of taxation under the upcoming Energy Taxation Directive would mean that fishing would be the only sector not subject to any CO2 emission reduction obligations.  

In this scenario, the European Union would maintain a tax system that :  

• encourages the use of fossil fuels to the disadvantage of other energy sources  

• mainly benefits the biggest polluters, as it is based on the volume of fuel consumed, and  

• deprives governments from strategic means of financing the social and ecological transition of the fishing industry.  

Indeed, the amount of fuel tax paid by European fishing vessels is between 700 million and 1.3 billion euros per year. However, these resources are essential to support the conversion of vessels to low-impact methods, and to assist professionals in the sector.  

As part of the Decarbonise Now coalition, BLOOM, ClientEarth, Oceana and Seas at Risk are therefore calling on Commissioners Wopke Hoekstra and Costas Kadis to resume negotiations on the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive, particularly in the face of the minority of states that wish to exclude the maritime and aviation sectors from such a reform.  

>>> Read the open letter  <<<