EU carbon market reforms will cost the shipping industry USD bns: The EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) reforms approved earlier this year — which added shipping emissions to the carbon market from 2024 — will cost the sector USD 3.6 bn in levies next year, Bloomberg reported last week, citing an estimate by Drewry Shipping Consultants. Shippers only have to cover 40% of their emissions in 2024, which will then go up to 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026 — the same year methane and nitrous oxide emissions come under the rules, according to the European Council. The levies will be imposed on all maritime vessels, from cargo ships to LNG carriers sailing from and docking at EU’s ports.

What price will the carbon be traded at? One estimate from marine classification society DNV predicts the carbon price under the ETS to be EUR 90 per ton of CO2 in 2024, Bloomberg notes. Another Reuters poll of seven analysts released earlier this year predicted EU allowances will average EUR 96.2 in 2024, and EUR 104.8 per ton in 2025.

Southern European states are not very happy: Ministers from seven EU countries, including Spain and Italy, have called for an option to pause plans to include shipping in the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS), the Financial Times reported, citing a letter it had seen. Despite supporting the overall aim of the policy, the officials are asking for Brussels to reconsider the measures, citing a concern that the ETS risks driving business away from European ports. The new tax could have “serious impacts on our import and export sectors”, they said, while calling on the commission to issue a statement with a “commitment to address with concrete measures” the risks to European ports associated with the levies.

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