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Europe’s shipping emissions back to pre-pandemic high

(Transport and Environment, 19 Sep 2023) Last year was a bumper year for shipping with alarming consequences for the climate, new emissions data shows.

European shipping emissions reached an all time high last year, new Transport & Environment (T&E) analysis shows. With the UN’s global shipping body failing to agree on binding emissions measures at its landmark summit back in July, Europe must move ahead with its own ambitious decarbonisation path, says T&E.

Every year, Europe’s shipping operators must by law hand over their emissions data to the EU. For the past years, T&E has used this to assess how Europe’s shipping emissions have evolved. In July, T&E published the data obtained from the EU. Many operators however failed to provide their emissions data on time, meaning Europe’s total shipping emissions are now much higher than previously reported. At over 135 million tonnes, Europe’s ships are emitting more carbon than they did before the pandemic disrupted international trade.

Cruise ship emissions were well up on the year before while a high number of vessels transporting LNG contributed to driving up emissions.

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Transport and Environment, 19 Sep 2023: Europe’s shipping emissions back to pre-pandemic high