
Isabelle Ryckbost
Secretary General of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) since 1/08/2013. Before taking up this function, Isabelle has been working as Director of the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) and Senior Advisor of ESPO for four years.
She studied Law (University of Namur and KULeuven) and European Law (UCL Louvain). Before joining EFIP, she worked in EU Public Affairs for almost 20 years. After a short period at the European Commission (DG Agriculture), she worked in an EU Public Affairs consultancy. In 1994 she started working in the European Parliament, as a political assistant and between 1999 and 2009 she was the political assistant of Dirk Sterckx, where she was mainly active in transport and port-related fields. She is co-author of the handbook “Zo Werkt Europa” (1st edition 2007, 2nd edition 2010, 3rd edition 2015).
Contact info
- Website:
- www.espo.be
- News
Ports in the race to net-zero
Europe has been focusing on its Green Deal ambition to make the EU the first net zero continent
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Setting course for a new year
How do you start a new year with new intentions, ambitions and strategies in a world full of uncertainties?
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Never waste a good crisis
Since the beginning of 2020 we are experiencing world crises most of us would have considered before as unrealistic and never to happen again.
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Emission trading system - will it be effective?
As part of the Fit for 55-package published in July last year, the Commission issued a proposal to include emissions from maritime in the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS).
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Towards a sustainable TEN-T policy
The European Commission has put another ambitious package on the table while we are still in the process of assessing the full implications of Fit-for-55, says Isabelle Ryckbost, secretary general, ESPO.
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Call for FuelEU clarity
European ports want coherent legislation on provision and use of clean energy infrastructure for ports.
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Creating green energy hubs
The EU Commission has published a whole series of proposals for Europe to reach a 55% emission reduction by 2030.
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Making the EU fit for 55
If all goes well, on 14 July we will not only be commemorating the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille in 1789, but also be bearing witness to a green revolution in Europe.
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Onshore power supply where it makes sense
In the 2019 European Parliament, Vice President Timmermans clearly voiced his intention to tackle shipping emissions at berth in ports.
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From Green Deal to green recovery?
In the last edition of the Greenport magazine I shared ESPO’s view on the Green Deal with you, but then just when these unprecedented EU ambitions to fight climate change were put forward, Covid-19 happened.
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The best green deal for ports?
The “Green Deal” will be one, if not the biggest priority of the European Commission under President Von der Leyen and here I’ll discuss why.
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More efficiency, less emissions?
Shipping will have to reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 50% by 2050. The IMO agreement agreed in April of this year has been considered by many policy makers and many stakeholders, including the ports, as a real milestone.
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Regulating ships’ waste
A new port facilities directive should lead to more efficient but responsible management of waste from ships.
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Environmental priorities of European ports
Since 1996, the European port sector has been monitoring, through the EcoPorts network, the main environmental concerns of port authorities in Europe.
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One bridge too far
It’s often said European port authorities assume both public and economic responsibilities and our latest fact-finding survey showed that 90% of European ports are situated in or close to urban agglomerations.
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A window of opportunities
I believe that when it comes to increasing efficiency both in terms of energy and operations, do more with less, is one important path to follow. And this certainly counts for the operational side of the maritime transport sector.
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The sustainable agenda of European cruise ports
At the end of February, Brussels was the place to be for the European maritime sector. The maritime beau monde gathered in Europe’s capital for the second edition of the European Shipping Week.
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Ecoports: The EU port’s environmental initiative turns 20
2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Ecoports network. What started in 1997 as a separate initiative of a number of ports proactive in the field of environment evolved over the years towards a solid network of around 100 European ports within ESPO.
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The climate is changing, but are ports?
Energy consumption has become second in the ESPO top 10 ranking of environmental priorities of European ports published this spring and they’’re realising that more than ever, tackling climate change is also their concern.
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The role of inland ports in urban logistics: back to basics
We all learned in our history lessons that medieval towns were set up on the river banks or at the crossing of two waterways. This is not without any reasons, at that time, water was the only way to bring goods to the town and the only way to run ...