Shipowner association criticises EU climate vote

European shipowners' association ECSA has criticised the European Parliament's vote to include shipping in the EU's emission trading system (EU ETS).

The EU parliament today voted to include in the EU ETS greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships over 5,000 gross tonnes in weight from 1 January 2022. The EU also wants a cut to the average annual CO2 emissions of ships by more than 40pc by 2030.

ECSA said that the decision has been made before the carrying-out of a proper impact assessment, and said the decision has been made under an unrelated piece of legislation.

"The proposal aims to pre-empt the conclusions of the European Commission's impact-assessment study and undermines the ongoing negotiations at the UN International Maritime Organisation," (IMO) it said. "The move risks introducing sub-optimal environmental regulations at the EU level, contributing to a regulatory patchwork and an increased fragmentation at the international level."

ECSA in July said that including shipping in the European ETS could contradict emission reduction targets. The IMO does not yet have firm GHG emission reduction targets, and it plans to publish a strategy in 2023. Until then, it wants to reduce emissions by a minimum of 40pc by 2030 and by 70pc by 2025, compared with 2008 levels.

Non-governmental organisation Transport & Environment said the parliament's vote sends a "clear signal" to EU President Ursula von der Leyen that the bloc's climate targets must apply to shipping.

By George Collard