Roadmap for decarbonizing the maritime industry. Proposed action plan to decarbonize the national maritime sector and ensure France's sovereignty of supply - January 2023

Faced with the urgency of climate change, the maritime sector, which accounts for nearly 3% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, has no choice but to make the transition to a low-carbon economy and to reduce its environmental footprint. The decarbonization of maritime activities represents a huge challenge for the sector and, more broadly, for the French economy, which depends on international trade. It is also an opportunity for the industry, provided it is ambitious, fair and a source of renewal. Given its highly international nature, it is difficult to give a precise figure for the national contribution of maritime transport to greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, depending on the country of the ports where the ships leave, the ships flag, or the time spent in territorial waters, the figures vary widely. An energy-efficient means of transport in relation to the volumes transported, maritime transport is nonetheless almost exclusively dependent on fossil fuels. Today, it must make an unprecedented energy transition in order to meet international and European commitments, as well as contribute to the national decarbonization effort. The long-term viability of France's maritime industry and its sovereignty of supply are also at stake. In concrete terms, this means taking into account the environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gases from the ship's construction to its dismantling, via its operation, the associated port infrastructures and the various forms of energy required to operate the ship (a so-called 'life-cycle' approach). To achieve this, the industry, under the co-chairmanship of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGAMPA) and the French Maritime Cluster (CMF), is proposing the implementation of an ambitious, balanced and economically viable action plan. Above the environmental challenges, the energy transition also represents a genuine opportunity for economic development and industrial job creation at national level. This action plan is divided into seven main areas and 34 actions: the development of technological bricks and zero-emission ships, the implementation of operational efficiency and sobriety measures for the fleet in service, the production and distribution of low-carbon energy for the maritime sector, the decarbonization of ports and their transformation into energy hubs, the decarbonization of the ship production phase, the strengthening of the regulatory framework and the operational implementation of the roadmap