EU Sustainable Transport Plan: Turning roadmap into bankable projects for action.

Brussels, 9 March 2026 – In November 2025, the European Commission announced the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP). This roadmap, under the EU Clean Industrial Deal, aims to mobilise funding for decarbonizing aviation and waterborne transport sectors. The aviation sector significantly contributes to the EU economy, adding over €110 billion to GDP and employing 281,000 people. It is also the second largest contributor to the EU transport sector’s GHG emissions (13.8%). The maritime transport sector contributes around €61.8 billion to GDP, employing 393,000 people. It is responsible for 12.7% of transport sector emissions. Both sectors are hard-to-abate, relying almost 99% on fossil fuels. This poses a significant lever to reduce transport sector emissions by 90% by mid-century. The goal is to achieve the EU’s climate-neutrality by 2050. Decarbonization requires efficiency improvements, alternative propulsion technologies, and modal shifts. Within this broader transition, the STIP focuses primarily on accelerating investment in sustainable aviation and maritime fuels (SAF and SMF). This is a central lever for near-to medium-term emissions reductions. The STIP specifies at least €2.9 billion initial funding mobilized by 2027 via EU instruments. However, meeting ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime targets will require approximately €100 billion by 2035. The European Commission will also introduce additional STIP mechanisms. These aim to provide revenue certainty, de-risk investments, and reduce administrative burdens. This frees up resources for growth. Figure 1. Contribution by funding instrument to anticipated mobilized funding under the STIP. [6] The EBF and UNEP FI convened EU policymakers, banks, and industry representatives. They identified market and financing challenges and opportunities after the STIP's introduction. Many issues were sector-specific. A clear message emerged: the EU needs stronger incentives, long-term demand signals, and targeted de-risking mechanisms. These are crucial to unlock finance and ensure stable long-term policies for aviation and shipping transition. Policymakers and industry representatives discussed long-term policy certainty and stable demand signals. They also addressed blended financing to bridge cost gaps, scaling up guarantees, and de-risking mechanisms. Further public financial support, ecosystem approaches, and demand-side tools were considered. Ensuring EU regulation, including financial, supports the aviation and maritime sectors' transition and financing was key. This article highlights discussion takeaways. Predictable, long-term regulatory frameworks are essential for enhancing business cases and underpinning investment decisions. For aviation, this means stable SAF mandates, ensuring linear demand increase, and multiannual allowance allocation. This supports long-term offtake agreements and SAF investment cases. For maritime, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is a primary driver. However, a broader "basket" of policy tools and consistent RED III implementation are needed. Participants noted that without stable demand signals, projects struggle to reach final investment decisions. Most remain commercially unviable and therefore unbankable. No single policy instrument can enhance business cases or bankability alone. A combination of mechanisms is needed, emphasizing double-sided auctions and complementary instruments. These include carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs) and ETS-based funding streams. These tools bridge the price gap between low-emission fuels and conventional alternatives. In a double-sided auction, a central intermediary contracts with suppliers and offtakers, reducing supplier credit risk and protecting buyers from price volatility. If a gap exists between supply and demand bids, the intermediary uses public or industry funding. This covers the price difference, stabilizing market expectations. Making clean fuels cost-competitive is central to scaling deployment. Public financing alone cannot meet the required investment scale. Stronger public risk-sharing is needed to attract private capital. Effective public financial support and de-risking tools are essential for early-stage projects. These tools cover technology and market risks, supporting clean fuel production in Europe. They also aid infrastructure and vessel retrofitting. Export credit support, guarantees, and grants bring projects to an investable level. Larger guarantee facilities are necessary. More public first-loss risk and stronger guarantees are needed. This unlocks financing for first-of-a-kind projects and emerging fuel value chains. Given the complexity of both sectors, ecosystem approaches are critical. These bring together producers, offtakers, infrastructure providers, local communities, and financiers. Clusters, green shipping corridors, and shared infrastructure aggregate demand, reduce risk, and support scaling. Ensuring EU regulation, including financial, supports the sectors’ transition and financing was a recurring theme. Tensions can arise between transition project financing needs and risk-related prudential requirements. However, prudential requirements are fundamental to a well-functioning financial system. They should not differ across sectors. Closer interactions between industrial policy, financial regulation, and supervisory expectations enhance competitiveness. This is especially true when associated with bankable business models for EU aviation and shipping industries. Discussions on the STIP and Clean Industrial Deal initiatives continue. A workshop highlighted a shared message from banks, industry, and policymakers. Moving from policy ambition to bankable projects requires coordinated action. It also needs stronger incentives, targeted de-risking, and long-term regulatory clarity. EBF and UNEP FI will continue supporting dialogue among financial institutions, industry, and policymakers. As the Clean Industrial Deal, STIP, and related initiatives develop, they help move from roadmap to deployment in Europe’s industrial transition.