An economic assessment reveals that ships heading to European ports will face carbon emission charges amounting to $3.6 billion in the coming year as the imposition of these fees begins, aimed at encouraging the maritime transport sector to reduce carbon emissions from vessels.
According to the new European rules set to take effect on January 1st, any ship entering or departing from European Union ports will be required to pay a fee based on the amount of carbon emissions they produce.
This will impact the shipping costs of everything from container ships carrying manufactured goods to liquefied natural gas needed for heating homes in Europe during the winter.
Bloomberg News agency pointed out that the global maritime transport sector emitted over one billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2018, with most ships in the sector relying on significantly cheaper fossil fuel engines compared to other energy sources.
It’s estimated that a container ship sailing between Europe and Asia will pay about €810,000 (around $887,000) in emission fees for a single journey, based on an estimation of a fee of approximately €90 per ton of emissions.
