EU shipping emissions rose in 2025. The ships did not emit more. The reported increase comes entirely from vessels that entered the reporting rules in 2025; follow the same ships through both years and emissions fell. Below the CO₂ line, methane rose sharply as LNG dual fuel ships reached the water, and from 2026 that methane becomes billable, pushing the maritime EU ETS bill toward 100 million allowances. For owners and charterers, the headline MRV number is only the starting point. The exposure sits behind it.
The full storyThe International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopts new short-term measures that require ships to combine a technical and an operational approach to reduce their carbon intensity. The operational Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) will highlight the charterers role in emissions reductions, but is it too weak, too slow? The IMO is already criticised for its selected method as well as its limited ambitions.
As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) assembles today to adopt emission reduction measures, it’s with a backdrop of pressure to increase climate ambitions. Nations and industry players call for a net-zero maritime industry by 2050.
A large majority of the respondents in an EU public consultation wants to include emissions not only from voyages between EU-ports but also from voyages between EU and non-EU ports in the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
