Sustainable Finance for Maritime Development: A Critical Analysis of Green Bonds in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan

This chapter is part of the topic “sustainable finance and EU policy” and focuses on the role assumed by new forms of finance that are taking place within EU policies and for Italy, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The goal of the main research question is to analyze the effects of some financial measures envisaged by the EU Next Generation on the shipping industry. Particularly, this study focuses on green bonds which, within the EU, from the very early stages of drafting the post-COVID-19 National Recovery and Resilience Plan, has been attributed to a crucial role in achieving the objectives of the ecological transition. Through an empirical nature, the authors proposed an application of green bonds to the maritime sector, with the aim to analyze the effects of the Cold Ironing Project implementation, a Green Ports’ innovative PNRR measure within the EU Next Generation. Considering the reduction of emissions in ports an issue of particular importance due to their proximity to human settlements and natural areas, cold ironing provides a form of sustainable power for ships even while they are docked in ports to provide electricity, lighting, cooling, heating, and other services auxiliaries.