New EU Commissioners urged to end fisheries’ fossil fuel subsidies

As part of the European Decarbonise Now campaign, the NGOs also urge the Commissioners to promote social justice within the sector at the EU level and between EU fishers and third-countries’ fishers.

The letter, sent on 2 December 2024, highlights that on 8 October, through the 2024 state of the climate report, leading climate and environmental scientists delivered “a brutal truth”, that the world that we know is disappearing, and that the ocean is a “vital ally in facing this crisis” as it absorbs almost a third of CO₂ emissions and regulates the global climate.

“Yet all indicators are in the red. Ocean temperatures are soaring, causing unprecedented storms and deadly floods. Biodiversity is collapsing due to industrial fishing and carbon sinks are in danger. Every year, industrial bottom trawlers scrape millions of square kilometres of seabed, releasing up to 1 gigaton of carbon into the marine environment,” they wrote, insisting that the EU is directly involved in this by channelling millions of euros of public subsidies into fuel tax exemptions, allocating fishing quotas to destructive fishing practices, and hesitating to ban bottom trawling, even inside marine protected areas (MPAs).

The NGOs have calculated the EU fisheries sector alone produces over 7 million tonnes of CO₂ from burning fuel for fishing at sea, excluding processing, transport and cooling.

They also state that while the European Advisory Board on Climate Change urges decision-makers to finalise the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) revision process to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the current revised compromise text at the Council is stalled by member states and this undermines the commitments made under the Paris Agreement and the EU’s climate neutrality objective by 2050, which is enshrined in the European Climate Law.

At the same time, the Commission hasn’t issued a roadmap for the decarbonisation of the fisheries sector and member states continue to fall short on implementing and promoting transparent and sustainable fishing opportunities under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), says the letter.

“While fishers still benefit from fossil fuel subsidies, access to fishing and financial resources remains in the hands of destructive vessels, and there is no plan for decarbonisation. Business as usual is still going on in fisheries while climate change effects are stronger, more violent, more frequent, and more eloquent in showing us that things need to change now.”

According to Decarbonise Now, fossil fuel subsidies in the form of the tax exemption in the current ETD represent the largest part of fisheries subsidies identified as harmful and that foster over-capacity of fishing fleets and the overexploitation of fish populations. It notes that in 2021, only in France, fuel tax exemptions accounted for €206 million representing 63% of total estimated subsidies.

“More polluting industrial fleets benefit the most from indirect fuel subsidies, while fishing and financing opportunities in Europe remain concentrated among wealthier owners of industrial, high-impact fishing vessels. Without these fuel tax exemptions, they would struggle to remain competitive in the market,” states the letter.

It continues: “From a competitiveness perspective, we cannot afford for this market distortion to further support an economically inefficient fleet, which depletes fish stocks at the expense of small-scale fisheries and coastal communities. Reliance on fossil fuel subsidies hinders the emergence of sustainable energy alternatives, which will leave the EU perpetually reliant on fossil fuels, most of which are imported.”

The letter adds the loss in public income resulting from the continuation of these tax exemptions for another two decades would be substantial: in the fisheries sector alone, uncollected revenue due to tax breaks on fuel is estimated between €700 million and €1.3 billion per year.

It’s also highlighted that low-impact, artisanal fisheries create more jobs and generate greater value per litre of fuel, while inflicting less environmental harm compared to industrial, high-impact fishing. Despite this, it says, small-scale coastal and artisanal fishers have been the least recipients of fishing opportunities and financial support for decades, which undermines the resilience of European fishing communities.

Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and ensuring fair fishing opportunities to low-impact fishers under Article 17 of the CFP is therefore crucial for paving the way to fair and sustainable fisheries in EU waters and beyond, it insists.

“Moving away from fossil fuels and phasing out destructive fishing practices is no longer just an environmental priority; it has become a matter of energy security and resilience. Establishing a fair taxation framework on fossil fuels in the maritime and fisheries sectors can enhance our resilience and energy independence, by incentivising the use of sustainable, locally-sourced energy alternatives and less energy-intensive fishing practices.”

The NGOs also highlight that Commissioner Kadis’ Mission Letter, handed down by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, assigns him the responsibility of developing a vision for the fisheries sector with a 2040 perspective.

“We urge you to prioritise and commit to a vision for a just, fair and less impactful fisheries sector. This vision should foster sustainability, fairness, job creation and long-term economic resilience in the fishing sector, particularly by supporting low impact artisanal and small-scale fishers and shifting away from energy-intensive and environmentally damaging fishing methods,” they wrote.

“We therefore call on you to accelerate the release of the roadmap for the energy transition of fisheries. It is essential that this roadmap promotes the transparent allocation of fishing opportunities by member states to enhance support for low-impact fishers and ending support to fossil fuel subsidies. We call upon you to collaborate with Commissioner Hoeckstra to oppose any outcome that falls short of the original proposals from the European Commission on the revision of the ETD, supporting a reasonable phasing in of taxation and a differentiated approach for small- scale coastal and artisanal low impact fishers.”