Energy transition & financing of future-proof inland waterway transport in Europe

Tuesday 28 Sept 2021, 11:00-12:30 CEST, Online  

Please find HERE the recording of the meeting 

SEArica has the pleasure of organising a webinar dedicated to inland waterway transport (IWT) following the European Parliament’s own-initiative report “Towards Future-Proof Inland Waterway Transport in Europe”.

European countries have a variety of different fleets of inland vessels, which makes inland waterway transport very convenient and useful for transporting different types and large quantities of cargo to different destinations on either large or small rivers. The European Strategy for Smart and Sustainable Mobility (SSMS) and the NAIADES III program, as part of the EU Green Deal, both seek to increase the share of IWT by 25% by 2030 and by 50% by 2050. At the same time, one of the main challenges for the IWT sector is to make the necessary energy transition and to look for alternative energy sources and propulsions. For this, a solid business case is needed. The IWT sector consists mostly of family businesses and smaller SMEs, which means that new financial instruments are needed, such as a dedicated European inland waterway fund.

On 3 June of this year, several studies commissioned by the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) were published and looked into the different alternatives for sustainable technologies as well as possible financing and funding instruments. The conclusions of the studies represent input for the start of discussions at European level on the energy transition in European inland waterway transport.

In this context, this webinar organised at the initiative of MEP and SEArica Member Caroline Nagtegaal aims to identify the barriers to overcome and the way to move the sector forward.