From January 1, 2024, the EU plans to include ships visiting European ports in its Emissions Trading System (ETS) scheme, which is estimated to generate $3.6 billion in carbon offsets for Europe in 2024. That is, shipping companies will have to buy carbon offsets for the carbon emissions produced by ships sailing between two EU ports; Ships sailing between EU and non-EU ports will be responsible for 50% of their carbon emissions.
However, seven EU countries, including Spain and Italy, recently sent a letter to the European Commission calling for the plan to be suspended to prevent shipping companies from avoiding European routes and diverting trade to nearby Mediterranean ports such as Tangier in Morocco or Port Said in Egypt, which are less than 300 nautical miles from EU shores. A container ship sailing between Europe and Asia by 2024 would cost an estimated €810,000, assuming a carbon price of €90 per tonne, according to the latest estimates from shipping consultants. Despite the cost of ETS, with container leader Maersk reportedly making $30 billion in profits last year, the bills generated by ETS are actually a fraction of international shipping revenues and are therefore likely to have little impact on end prices. However, some EU countries on the Mediterranean coast, including Portugal, Greece and Cyprus, have publicly argued that the ETS, which comes into effect in 2024, could shift emissions to other parts of the world and that companies could take longer routes to avoid calling at EU ports, which could increase greenhouse gas emissions.
