Transportation EU authorities: Shipping needs to catch up on climate targets

SDA

4.2.2025 - 00:45

Dark clouds of smoke rise from the chimney of a ferry as it leaves the port in Rostock, Germany. (Archive image)
Dark clouds of smoke rise from the chimney of a ferry as it leaves the port in Rostock, Germany. (Archive image)
Keystone

According to two EU authorities, European shipping needs to make further progress in climate and environmental protection. The maritime sector is also making progress towards greater sustainability.

Keystone-SDA

However, it must step up its efforts in the coming years in order to achieve the EU's climate and environmental targets to reduce energy consumption, pollution and emissions and to better protect biodiversity, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) wrote in a joint report.

According to the report, emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases in particular continue to pose a challenge for maritime transport - even though it is generally one of the least carbon-intensive modes of transportation. Activities in the sector such as freight and container transport, commercial fishing, tanker transport and cruises accounted for an estimated three to four percent of the European Union's total CO2 emissions. The EU agencies based in Copenhagen and Lisbon made it clear that this proportion must be reduced.

EU Commissioner: Guidelines for the shipping of the future

The environmental and shipping experts also stated that something must be done about water pollution, for example from oil and waste water, as well as the switch to cleaner fuels. On a positive note, they noted that marine litter caused by fishing and shipping has halved over the past decade - however, it is still difficult to solve this problem comprehensively.

The report is a valuable guide to the future of European shipping and a call to action, said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall called for a paradigm shift in the appreciation of water in order to preserve its quality and quantity while strengthening the sector's economic competitive advantages.