The shipping sector could save between €5m and €9m a year and reduce its environmental impact if operators are required to invest in advanced emissions monitoring systems, a new report has found.
The study by consultancy CE Delft could potentially have implications for current EU plans to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from ships from 2018, as it looks to reduce the sector’s expanding environmental impact.
The European Parliament is currently reviewing plans proposed by the Commission that would require ship operators to measure and report their annual fuel burn and emissions when travelling to and from the EU.
The current proposals would demand that ship owners and operators present paper fuel sales receipts at EU ports, as part of a regime designed to encourage ships to curb their fuel use while also minimising the regulatory burden on shipping firms. The EU estimates the move could curb shipping emissions by up to two per cent in 2030, compared with a business as usual scenario.
However, the CE Delft report, commissioned by campaign group Transport & Environment, argued these savings would only be achieved if they are delivered alongside other measures, including the installation of comprehensive emissions monitoring and data analysis systems on ships.
The report showed the use of advanced monitoring systems could deliver higher emissions reductions and financial savings of between €5m and €9m a year.
The calculations are based on the savings made by some of the more progressive shipping firms that have already invested in this technology, such as Maersk.
“This study clearly shows that the most accurate way to monitor shipping emissions is also the cheapest in the long run,” said Aoife O’Leary, clean shipping officer at Transport & Environment (T&E). “When GPS systems became available to massively improve the accuracy of ship navigation, no ship owner turned a blind eye to the technology just because of an upfront capital cost. So, why should the Commission favour the use of inaccurate old-fashioned paper receipts when they could promote an accurate, real-time fuel monitoring system, enabling real emissions reductions?”
MEPs on the environment committee are expected to vote on the proposals on 12 February, ahead of a plenary decision being taken by the parliament.
T&E is now calling for MEPs to tighten up the scheme in order to maximise both environmental and financial savings. “As the shipping industry pushes back against new laws to make shipping greener, this study shows that it makes perfect environmental and economic sense to use modern technologies and consolidate reporting requirements into one regulation,” added O’Leary. “We therefore call on the European Parliament to strengthen the proposal to ensure that all harmful pollutants can be more effectively controlled.”
However, MEPs on the industry committee yesterday backed the Commission’s original proposals, making no enhancements to the plans. Fears are now mounting that many within the shipping industry could be left calculating their carbon footprint using paper receipts for some time to come.