High time the maritime sector sailed into the EU carbon market

The author advocates for the EU to integrate shipping into its carbon market through the EU ETS, combined with a dedicated decarbonization fund and a binding carbon intensity target. While acknowledging that the EU ETS alone is insufficient, the document suggests these combined measures would stimulate innovation and provide a global example for carbon pricing in shipping. The author warns against free pollution permits, offsetting, and funding for fuels that cannot be produced in climate-friendly ways, urging the EU to lead despite the slow pace of the International Maritime Organisation.

• Shipping is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with projections suggesting this could increase by 50% to 250% by 2050 if no action is taken.
• The author proposes a three-part strategy to decarbonize the EU shipping industry: including the sector in the EU ETS, establishing a Maritime Transport Decarbonization Fund to recycle revenues (potentially mobilizing 1 to 3.5 billion EUR annually), and setting a binding target to reduce carbon intensity by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 2018.
• To ensure the effectiveness of these measures, the author argues that the EU must avoid free allocation of pollution permits and the use of offsetting, and should focus the Decarbonization Fund on renewable energy and energy efficiency rather than fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, or biofuels that currently lack climate-friendly production at scale.
• The current scope of the proposed scheme focuses on CO2, but the author recommends expanding it to cover all greenhouse gases or establishing a clear timetable for including others, such as methane.

APA

Stoefs, W. (2020). High time the maritime sector sailed into the EU carbon market. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2020/02/27/high-time-the-maritime-sector-sailed-into-the-eu-carbon-market/

Chicago

Stoefs, Wijnand. High time the maritime sector sailed into the EU carbon market. Carbon Market Watch, 2020. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2020/02/27/high-time-the-maritime-sector-sailed-into-the-eu-carbon-market/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Stoefs |first1=Wijnand |title=High time the maritime sector sailed into the EU carbon market |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=27 February 2020 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2020/02/27/high-time-the-maritime-sector-sailed-into-the-eu-carbon-market/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{stoefs2020high, author = {Stoefs, Wijnand}, title = {{High time the maritime sector sailed into the EU carbon market}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2020/02/27/high-time-the-maritime-sector-sailed-into-the-eu-carbon-market/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }