Cruise body Clia has welcomed the publication of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) guidance on the resumption of cruise ship operations in the European Union.
The 36-page document does not set a date for a return for cruising in the EU but Clia said member lines envisage a gradual, ‘phased-in’ approach to resumption.
The EMSA guidance provides recommendations relating to the development of ship and port management plans and the interaction between cruise operations and ports and terminals.
Co-authored with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the EMSA guidance follows the recent publication of EU Healthy Gateways guidance on the resumption of cruise ship operations.
Viewed together, these guidance documents aim to establish a pan-European benchmark for national maritime transport and public health authorities for the future resumption of cruising in Europe.
Clia and its member cruise lines have been engaged in the development of the guidance, and lines are also identifying appropriate ‘door-to-door’ protocols based on evolving guidance from health authorities and medical experts that cover passengers from the time of booking their cruise to the holiday itself and their safe return home.
Tom Boardley, secretary-general of Clia Europe, said: “This guidance from the European Maritime Safety Agency is an important resource for authorities and operators focused on the safe resumption of cruising in Europe.”
In American waters, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has implemented a No Sail Order to the end of September.
The document plans for a massive expansion in offshore wind
Greenpeace has joined a growing list of organisations demanding that the UK government puts protecting the environment at the heart of any post-COVID-19 economic stimulus package.
The campaign group has produced a detailed “manifesto” with measures to boost clean transport and smart power.
The document follows a comparable call from some of Britain’s most powerful business leaders earlier this week.
Last week, the prime minister also expressed a similar ambition.
The manifesto also contains measures to support the protection of nature, green buildings and the creation of an economy in which virtually everything is reused.
Greenpeace says the crisis has given Britain a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to transform life, travel and work.
It added that the plan would create hundreds of thousands of secure jobs.
Green business
On Monday, more than 200 chief executives of some of the UK’s top firms – including HSBC, National Grid, and Heathrow airport – signed a letter to the prime minister asking him to use the Covid-19 lockdown as a springboard to “deliver a clean, just recovery”.
Many people may be surprised how similar the recommendations of these two very different interest groups are.
Both Greenpeace and the chief executives are asking the government to prioritise investments in low carbon technologies and calling for the decarbonisation of the British economy to be speeded up
Both say they want to see a focus on sectors that best support the environment
Both are demanding that financial support for ailing businesses must come with a requirement for them to commit to taking action to reduce their impact on the environment.
Greenpeace’s manifesto is, however, considerably more detailed.
It is a 62-page document with a specific policy, spending and tax measures covering most of the British economy.
It calls on the government to deliver its 2050 net-zero emissions goal before 2045.
Controversial policies
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe manifesto contains measures to encourage clean transport
But many drivers may balk at Greenpeace’s proposals to radically redesign the road network to favour walking and cycling, at the suggestion that petrol and diesel cars are banned by 2030 or that fuel duty is steadily increased.
Many homeowners might be reluctant to spend money to upgrade their properties to meet tough energy efficiency standards.
At the same time, many local communities are likely to resist the plan for a big increase in onshore wind and solar power to complement a proposed massive expansion of offshore wind farms – few things unite local communities like a proposal to put in an array of wind turbines.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe manifesto proposes the creation of an economy in which virtually everything is reused
But, says Greenpeace, tough policies like these are essential if the government is going to take meaningful action to tackle climate change.
“The choices our government makes now will define… whether or not we succeed in the fight against the climate emergency”, says John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace.
“If we fail to get this right, we may never get another chance. Now is the time for a green recovery, and for that, we need action, not words.”
It says there would be huge dividends in terms of job creation, should its programme be adopted.
Greenpeace calculates that its plans would create hundreds of thousands of new high-skilled jobs as well as helping to level up inequalities between communities in the UK.
Unique opportunity
The UK government has already indicated that protecting the environment will feature heavily in any stimulus package.
Back in April, Boris Johnson said a post-COVID-19 recovery plan should include efforts to “turn the tide on climate change”.
Last week, it said it planned to commit a whopping €750bn (£667bn; $841bn) to its recovery package.
Add in spending from future budgets and the total financial firepower the European Commission says it will be wielding is almost €2tn (£1.8tn; $2.2tn).
Fighting climate change is at the heart of the bloc’s recovery from the pandemic.
There will be tens of billions of euros to make homes more energy-efficient, to de-carbonise electricity and phase out petrol and diesel vehicles.
The idea is to turbo-charge the European effort to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.
“If we do not do it, we will be taking much more risk,” Teresa Ribera, deputy prime minister of Spain, told the BBC.
“The recovery should be green or it will not be a recovery, it will just be a shortcut into the kind of problems we are facing right now.”
The governments of Germany, Italy and Spain have joined 12 others in the EU demanding a suspension of airline refund rules.
Under EU 261 denied boarding regulations, airlines must refund customers within seven days of a flight being cancelled.
However, many airlines are facing drastic liquidity issues and are unable to issue cash refunds within that time frame.
The European Commission has issued new guidance and sanctioned credit notes being issued instead of cash only when passengers accept them.
Last Wednesday 12 EU governments called on the union’s executive body to suspend the rules and yesterday Germany, Italy and Spain were reported to have joined them.
French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in a statement: “I’m glad a very large majority of member states are supporting my request to authorise airlines and maritime groups to temporarily use vouchers when trips are cancelled, so as to relieve their cash reserves while protecting passengers’ rights to a refund.”
Governments in favour of a temporary change in the rules have said vouchers should be valid for a set period and include the right to reimbursement if they are not used before the expiry date.
They also want to ensure that financial protection is provided in the case of airline bankruptcies.
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