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Carbon pricing: From regulatory talk to billion-dollar reality

Emissions pricing is no longer a distant regulatory threat, it’s a line item on the shipping industry’s balance sheet. In 2025 alone, the EU’s emissions schemes are set to add more than USD 6 billion in costs. And this is just the beginning.
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Emissions pricing is no longer a distant regulatory threat, it’s a line item on the shipping industry’s balance sheet. In 2025 alone, the EU’s emissions schemes are set to add more than USD 6 billion in costs. And this is just the beginning.

Over the next five years, a wave of regional and global carbon measures will reshape how shipping is financed, traded, and operated. By 2030, the combined cost from EU ETS, FuelEU Maritime, UK ETS and the IMO’s Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) measure could exceed USD 50 billion. And if additional countries follow the EU’s lead and implement their own maritime carbon taxes, the total industry bill could double—reaching USD 100 billion annually.

Siglar Carbon emission cost calculations 2024-2030


The EU ETS already charges shipowners and charterers of emissions from voyages to, from or within EU. The FuelEU Maritime has a similar geographical scope that adds a cost to vessels burning conventional fuels with high carbon intensity. Meanwhile, similar schemes are in place or coming elsewhere, such as in Gabon and Djibouti, UK and Turkey.  

From 2028, the IMO’s Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) measure is expected to enter force, putting a price on carbon intensity across the global fleet. This adds an estimated USD 22 billion in 2028, rising to USD 33 billion by 2030.

Several countries are evaluating the opportunity of taxing shipping emissions. If these new schemes materialise, the global carbon bill for shipping would climb towards USD 100 billion by 2030.

The next wave of carbon costs could double shipping’s bill

The IMO’s GFI: A global layer or just another cost?

A key question remains: will regulators view the IMO’s measure as sufficient, or will regional and national systems continue to layer costs on top? The answer could determine whether shipping faces a coordinated global carbon price, or a patchwork of overlapping taxes that fragment the market.

What this means for commercial decisions

For shipowners, charterers, and traders, carbon pricing is no longer a compliance topic, it’s a commercial variable. Each voyage now carries a measurable and tradable emissions cost that directly affects TCE and competitiveness in the charter market.

For financiers, insurers, and cargo owners, carbon exposure is fast becoming a new class of operational and credit risk. The ability to quantify, benchmark, and manage emissions will soon be as critical as assessing freight rates or bunker exposure.

Seeing the full carbon cost picture

At Siglar Carbon, we track, estimate and validate emissions and their related cost exposure across hundreds of voyages every day.

Our analytics make it easy to:

  • Quantify carbon costs across ETS, FuelEU, and upcoming GFI measures
  • Compare commercial options and identify the lowest-cost routes and vessels
  • Report and verify emissions with confidence, internally and to counterparties

Because in the next decade, carbon intelligence will be just as valuable as market intelligence.

Carbon pricing: From regulatory talk to billion-dollar reality

Emissions pricing is no longer a distant regulatory threat, it’s a line item on the shipping industry’s balance sheet. In 2025 alone, the EU’s emissions schemes are set to add more than USD 6 billion in costs. And this is just the beginning.

Over the next five years, a wave of regional and global carbon measures will reshape how shipping is financed, traded, and operated. By 2030, the combined cost from EU ETS, FuelEU Maritime, UK ETS and the IMO’s Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) measure could exceed USD 50 billion. And if additional countries follow the EU’s lead and implement their own maritime carbon taxes, the total industry bill could double—reaching USD 100 billion annually.

Siglar Carbon emission cost calculations 2024-2030


The EU ETS already charges shipowners and charterers of emissions from voyages to, from or within EU. The FuelEU Maritime has a similar geographical scope that adds a cost to vessels burning conventional fuels with high carbon intensity. Meanwhile, similar schemes are in place or coming elsewhere, such as in Gabon and Djibouti, UK and Turkey.  

From 2028, the IMO’s Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) measure is expected to enter force, putting a price on carbon intensity across the global fleet. This adds an estimated USD 22 billion in 2028, rising to USD 33 billion by 2030.

Several countries are evaluating the opportunity of taxing shipping emissions. If these new schemes materialise, the global carbon bill for shipping would climb towards USD 100 billion by 2030.

The next wave of carbon costs could double shipping’s bill

The IMO’s GFI: A global layer or just another cost?

A key question remains: will regulators view the IMO’s measure as sufficient, or will regional and national systems continue to layer costs on top? The answer could determine whether shipping faces a coordinated global carbon price, or a patchwork of overlapping taxes that fragment the market.

What this means for commercial decisions

For shipowners, charterers, and traders, carbon pricing is no longer a compliance topic, it’s a commercial variable. Each voyage now carries a measurable and tradable emissions cost that directly affects TCE and competitiveness in the charter market.

For financiers, insurers, and cargo owners, carbon exposure is fast becoming a new class of operational and credit risk. The ability to quantify, benchmark, and manage emissions will soon be as critical as assessing freight rates or bunker exposure.

Seeing the full carbon cost picture

At Siglar Carbon, we track, estimate and validate emissions and their related cost exposure across hundreds of voyages every day.

Our analytics make it easy to:

  • Quantify carbon costs across ETS, FuelEU, and upcoming GFI measures
  • Compare commercial options and identify the lowest-cost routes and vessels
  • Report and verify emissions with confidence, internally and to counterparties

Because in the next decade, carbon intelligence will be just as valuable as market intelligence.