European development bank on Monday said it had launched a program aimed at modernizing the maritime sector in Türkiye, facilitating green investments and climate mitigation technologies to add pace to the country’s shift to a low-carbon economy.

Developed in consultation with the Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Ministry and the European Union Delegation to Türkiye, the Maritime Decarbonization and Green Shipping Program will focus on green investments that seek to update the sector while promoting environmentally friendly technologies in ports and vessels.

The total cost of the program is estimated at 70 million euros ($76.54 million), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said in a statement. The EU will provide 20 million euros of that.

Featuring two main components, the program looks to promote investments in ports and vessels, along with technical assistance and capacity building. It will also support the country’s institutional and regulatory frameworks to ensure the wide-ranging transformation of the sector, the bank said.

"The transport sector plays a key role in Türkiye’s decarburization agenda, which aims to achieve a net-zero economy by 2053. The country’s port infrastructure and services require improvement, with aging fleets and vulnerability to climate change risks endangering green progress," the statement read.

The lender said the program would support both private- and public-sector investments capable of having a positive impact, be it reducing emissions or helping sectoral players to better mitigate disruptions caused by the climate crisis.

"Change is continuous, but never easy. The EBRD is pleased to be joining forces with the EU and Türkiye’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure at this significant stage, with a program capable of generating sectorwide, transformational impact," said Sue Barrett, the EBRD’s Director for Infrastructure in Türkiye, the Middle East and Africa.

"We are confident that our funds, assistance and dialogue will work to align Türkiye’s maritime sector with rapidly progressing international standards, securing a greener future for the country."

For his part, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer Landrut, head of the EU delegation, said the EU-Türkiye cooperation will bring certain innovative technologies to Türkiye’s maritime sector and create a strong demonstration effect for the industry.

"By facilitating the pilot use of environmentally friendly, frontier technologies and green fuels, the EU will be playing a critical role in breaking down the existing barriers to the decarburization of Türkiye’s maritime sector," said Landrut.

"The European experience shows that without strong incentives, the barriers to using innovative technologies and alternatives cannot be overcome."

The EBRD remains the leading institutional investor in Türkiye, with a cumulative investment in the country to date of more than 17.3 billion euros.

Over half of the lender’s 2022 investments in Türkiye were part of its Green Economy Transition approach, focusing on projects that aim to accelerate the country’s shift to a greener, low-carbon and resilient economy.

EBRD invested 1.63 billion euros in Türkiye in 2022, the highest volume of annual investment of all the economies in which the lender operates.