The Federal Government today approved the National Action Plan for Climate-friendly Shipping presented by the Federal Minister of Transport.

Maritime and inland waterway transport is of vital importance for Germany as a business location. It safeguards supply, value creation and employment in the country and is an indispensable part of efficient supply chains. With the National Action Plan, the Federal Government is laying the groundwork for climate-friendly shipping to support the sector in meeting its climate targets and remaining competitive.

Steffen Bilger, Federal Minister of Transport:

The shipping industry is facing a far-reaching transformation and major challenges. With the National Action Plan for Climate-friendly Shipping, we are supporting the sector in successfully shaping this transformation, creating new value and positioning Germany as a leading hub of innovation in climate-friendly maritime technologies. The Action Plan explicitly adopts a technology-neutral approach and establishes a reliable framework to ensure that the best climate-friendly solutions can prevail in the market. This is how we bring climate action, competitiveness and innovation together.

The Action Plan is part of the Federal Government’s Climate Action Programme 2026. It was drawn up through a broad dialogue with associations, the scientific community and federal state and Federal Government departments and complements the Federal Government’s activities at international and European level. The measures are also closely linked to the Federal Ministry of Transport’s activities aimed at adapting to the consequences of climate change, in particular the Rhine Low Water Action Plan.

The key areas of action include: 

• the development and use of alternative propulsion and energy systems
• the supply of low-carbon and sustainable renewable energy sources to the shipping industry
• the climate-friendly modernization of the shipping fleet
• the development of green shipping corridors

A technology-neutral approach and the removal of unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles are guiding principles of the Action Plan to accelerate the market launch and roll-out of climate-friendly technologies.

Following the Cabinet decision, implementation of the 47 measures of the Action Plan will now begin. The new funding measures of the Action Plan have been allocated 400 million euros from the Climate-friendly Shipping and Ports item of the Climate and Transformation Fund; the funds will support the decarbonization of the sector over the coming years. The climate-friendly transformation of German maritime and inland waterway transport remains a joint process: The next steps towards implementation will follow this autumn at the Federal Ministry of Transport’s conference on climate-friendly shipping on 5 November 2026, in collaboration with experts from the federal states, industry, trade associations, the scientific community, government departments and public authorities.