Within environmental policy, economic incentives refer to economic measures that accelerate improvements in the environmental performance of human activities, such as maritime transportation. In the maritime field, economic incentives include measures such as environmentally differentiated operational fees and taxes, as well as national and EU co-funding for investments in technology and practice. A relatively diverse palette of such economic incentives is currently available in the Baltic Sea region.
This study provides a comprehensive overview of the existing economic incentives for maritime transportation in the Baltic Sea region. The aims are to estimate the impact of these incentives, to recognise challenges related to them, and to discover best practises. These provide material for considering international recommendations on economic incentives. The specific purpose of this report is to contribute to work within the HELCOM GREEN TEAM on the use of economic incentives in the Baltic Sea Region.