The Netherlands' government will cut GHG reduction mandates for international maritime and inland shipping supplies from the proposed draft earlier this year, according to a communication from the ministry of infrastructure and water management sent to market participants and seen by Argus, citing delays in Belgian transposition causing concerns of an uneven playing field for fuel suppliers.
The statement confirmed that the new renewable energy directive (RED) III mandates will come into effect on 1 January, and will apply retroactively from that date if passed later.
Maritime fuel suppliers will be subject to a 2.9pc GHG reduction target in 2026 compared with 3.6pc initially, 0.9pc of which will be a flexible credit allowance that can be fulfilled by overcompliance in other sectors. The inland shipping obligation will be reduced to a 2.5pc greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target from a previously announced 3.8pc, with 0.5pc flexible credit allowance. The statement added that obligations from 2027 onwards will apply as previously announced in the draft bill.
The previously announced ban on 9B feedstocks for international maritime is to remain in place, with the Netherlands to explore whether the overall Annex 9B biofuels cap can be increased to create leeway. Despite an initial agreement between Belgium and the Netherlands to align on marine targets under RED III, some divergence has already emerged as the Netherlands will treat 9B feedstock biofuels as fossil volumes under the maritime obligation — while Belgium may count such volumes as zero when calculating the overall fuel supply.
Initial reactions from market participants pointed to expectations of some marine fuels demand shifting from Dutch ports towards neighbouring ports, as the German cabinet passed a version of RED III legislation today that excludes international maritime from the country's targets. Belgium has also yet to finalise its RED III transposition, with updates to come following the conclusion of a public consultation on 14 November.
