EU maritime transport: progress made, but environmental, sustainability challenges persist

Maritime transport plays a crucial role in sustaining trade, economic growth, connectivity, and accessibility, while also contributing to energy security and job creation. However, increased transport demand for the maritime sector comes with additional environmental impacts on the atmosphere and marine ecosystems. According to the report , which gives an update on the environmental performance of the sector and an assessment of efforts to make it more sustainable, some progress has been made but reducing emissions remains a challenge.

Activities like shipping of cargo, containers, commercial fishing, tankers, and cruise ships, as well as port activities, remain significant contributors to a wide range of environmental challenges, with the whole sector accounting for 3-4% of the EU’s overall carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a share that needs to decrease. Meanwhile, methane gas (CH4) emissions have at least doubled between 2018 and 2023, accounting for 26% of the sector’s total methane emissions in 2022. Apart from greenhouse gas emissions, reducing air pollutants like sulphur and nitrogen oxides (NOX) continues to be an issue.

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