A Roadmap Towards Eliminating Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Air Pollutants of the Inland Navigation Sector by 2050 – How to Address the Related Economic, Financial, Technical and Regulatory Obstacles?

Abstract

The Ministers responsible for transport have tasked the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine to develop a roadmap for reducing emissions in inland navigation. The ambition is to determine the transition pathways for developing the fleet and achieving “zero emission” inland navigation by 2050. After recalling the general context of climate change and its application to the inland navigation sector, the roadmap explains certain definitions and assumptions. It then identifies different technologies enabling alternatives to gasoil which could play a role in the energy transition of the inland navigation sector, in the form of two pathways for the fleet’s development. Economic challenges are addressed, taking into account the huge financial gap to be bridged. It ends with a list of actions needed to achieve these objectives. Thus, this roadmap is intended as a public policy tool for European inland navigation.