Include shipping emissions in the UK ETS – T&E

The UK should include all domestic and 50% of international shipping emissions under the scope of the UK Emissions Trading System (ETS), Transport & Environment (T&E) urges.

PHOTO: Aerial view of Port of Aberdeen in the UK. Twitter of @PortofAberdeen

The regulation should be applied to all commercial vessels above 400 gross tonnage, it added.

The UK could generate over £1 billion/year ($1.3 billion/year) by including the UK’s share of shipping emissions in the national ETS, the European non-profit wrote in a letter to the UK Chancellor.

This revenue could be directed towards incentivising the production of low- and zero-emission marine fuels and technologies. It could also, in turn, boost energy security by reducing the country’s reliance on marine fuel imports, it explained.

T&E reported that the UK’s shipping sector is “highly polluting, with vessels relying entirely on fossil fuels of the dirtiest kind and producing nearly one-fifth of UK transport greenhouse gas emissions,” underscoring the urgent need to shift to zero-emission fuels.

The organisation urged the UK Chancellor to make this announcement in the upcoming budget to signal to the “industry, investors, and other governments” that the UK is serious about decarbonizing its maritime sector.

The first budget of the new UK government will be presented by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on 30 October.

By Konica Bhatt

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