REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 2023 Report from the European Commission on CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport
Date: 2024-04-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, application of EU law, energy consumption, energy efficiency, environmental monitoring, greenhouse gas, marine fuel, maritime transport, pollution from ships, reduction of gas emissions

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.4.2024  COM(2024) 151 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 2023 Report from the European Commission on CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport {SWD(2024) 87 final}  
 
 
2023 Report from the European Commission on CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport  

1.  Introduction  

Maritime  transport  plays  an  essential  role  in  the  EU  economy  and  is  one  of  the  most  energy-
efficient modes of transport. However, it is also a major and growing source of greenhouse gas 
emissions. This is the fifth annual report on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from ships entering 
and leaving ports in the European Economic Area (EEA), collected under the EU Regulation on 
the monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport 
adopted in 2015 1 (the EU Maritime MRV Regulation). The Regulation is an essential part of the 
EU’s action to address climate change in the maritime transport sector. 

The present report covers the first five compliance cycles (i.e. data collected for 2018-2022) and 
builds on the previous reports 2. It allows a comparison of data, as well as an examination of trends 
in emissions and energy efficiency over the years. This report also analyses the characteristics and 
energy  efficiency  of  ships,  helping  to  better  understand  trends  in  maritime  transport  CO2 
emissions.  

2.  Policy development 

As  part  of  the  package  to  deliver  the  European  Green  Deal,  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  adopted  in  2023  a  series  of  measures  to  ensure  that  the  maritime  transport  sector 
contributes to achieving the EU’s climate ambitions: 

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the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) 3 has extended the scope of the 
EU  ETS  to  cover  CO2  emissions  from  large  ships  entering  EU  ports  as  from 
1 January 2024, regardless of the flag they fly; 
the FuelEU Maritime Regulation 4 will ensure that the greenhouse gas intensity of energy 
used  onboard  ships  gradually  decreases  over  time,  and  will  oblige  passenger  ships  and 
container ships to use onshore power supply while moored at the quayside in major EU 
ports as from 2030; 

1 Regulation  (EU)  2015/757  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  29 April 2015  on  the  monitoring, 
reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC, 
OJ L 123, 19.5.2015, p. 55. 
2 Communication C(2020) 3184 final, 2019 Annual Report from the European Commission on CO2 Emissions from 
MaritimeTransport,https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/676175fd-f8db-40fb-b37a-
cc7323c680a2_en?filename=c_2020_3184_en.pdf,  Communication C(2021) 6022  final,  2020  Annual  Report  from 
the European Commission on CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport, 8cd736dc-d508-408c-8cf7-9317048d1ff0_en 
(europa.eu),  Communication  C(2022) 5759  final,  Third  Annual  Report  from  the  European  Commission  on  CO2 
Emissions from Maritime Transport (period 2018-2020), https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/06c406a8-
df93-4e38-b7ca-9a6929d5bddb_en?filename=c_2022_5759__en.pdf,  and  Communication  C(2023) 1585 final, 
Fourth Annual Report from the European Commission on CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport (period 2018-
2021), 01688bd2-e5a5-48cd-97b7-415fb99666fa_en (europa.eu),  
3 Through Directive (EU) 2023/959, OJ L 130, 16.5.2023, p. 134, http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/959/oj. 
4 Regulation (EU) 2023/1805, OJ L 234, 22.9.2023, p. 48, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1805/oj. 

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the Regulation on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure 5 requires maritime ports welcoming 
a minimum number of large passenger vessels or container vessels to provide shore-side 
electricity for such vessels by 2030; 
the revision of the Renewables Energy Directive 6 has introduced more ambitious sector-
specific  targets  in  transport,  including  subtargets  for advanced  biofuels and renewable 
fuels of non-biological origin for the sector 7. 

Horizon  Europe  8  is  supporting  the  successful  implementation  of  the  policy  objectives  of  the 
above measures through research and innovation. In this context, the Zero-Emission Waterborne 
Transport partnership 9, with a budget of €3.8 bn, was set to demonstrate zero-emission solutions 
for all main ship types and services before 2030. 

Compliance with the new obligations stemming from the extension of the EU ETS to maritime 
transport  and  the  FuelEU  Maritime  Regulation  will  build  on  the  monitoring,  reporting  and 
verification system established by the EU MRV Regulation, which was revised in May 2023 10. 
The revision amends the rules, to the extent necessary, to extend the ETS to maritime transport 
and to include non-CO2 emissions (methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)) in the system. The 
new monitoring and reporting rules will apply from the reporting period 2024 onward.  

The Commission is also committed to supporting global action to encourage the decarbonisation 
of the sector, notably at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), where the EU supported 
and welcomed the outcome of the revision of the initial IMO greenhouse gas reduction strategy in 
July 2023, which set the goal of net zero emissions from ships by or around, i.e. close to, 2050.  

At  the  international  level  the  Commission,  on  behalf  of  the  EU,  has  further  partnered  with  23 
countries  outside  of  the  EU  in  the  Mission  Innovation  initiative  to  accelerate  clean  energy 
innovation, which includes the Zero-Emission Shipping mission. 

3.  CO2 emissions in 2022 as compared with 2021: Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 

and the post-COVID-19 economic recovery 

The monitored voyages for the 2022 reporting year emitted 135.5 million tonnes of CO2 into the 
atmosphere. These emissions were 7.1% higher than those reported in 2021 and 7.9% lower than 
those reported pre-COVID-19 in 2019 (the 2019 figure did, however, include emissions related to 

5 Regulation (EU) 2023/1804, OJ L 234, 22.9.2023, p. 1, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. 
6 Directive (EU) 2023/2413, OJ L 2023/2413, 31.10.2023, ELI: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202302413. 
7  The Commission’s proposal for a revision of the Directive on energy taxation (Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 
27 October 2003) is still being considered by the co-legislators at the time of writing. 
8 Regulation (EU) 2021/695, OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/695/oj. 
9 Commission Decision C(2021) 4113 of 14.6.2021 on the approval and signature of eleven Memoranda of 
Understanding for Co-programmed European Partnerships for Research and Innovation. 
10 Regulation (EU) 2023/957, OJ L 130, 16.5.2023, p. 105, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/957/oj. 

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the United Kingdom 11). The emissions reported for 2022 originated from a fleet of almost 12 800 
ships, the highest number registered so far for a single reporting period (6.5% higher than in 2021).  

This total increase in CO2 emissions for the period 2021-2022 hides significant disparities between 
the different ship types, which reflect the major economic trends that affected the year 2022, and 
notably the consequences of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, 9 of the 15 ship types 
reported higher emissions than in 2021.  

-  By  ship-type  group,  passenger  ships  (+172%),  liquified  natural  gas  (LNG)  carriers 
(+59%), and bulk carriers (+13%) recorded the highest increases in emissions compared 
with  2021.  These  were  driven  by  the  increasing  number  of  reporting  ships  and  higher 
activity levels.  

-  The increase of emissions from passenger ships reflects the rebound (full or partial) of the 
sector  after  the  COVID-19  years.  The  increase  from  LNG  carriers  reflects  the  record 
amount of LNG imported into the EU in 2022. 

-  The  activity  of  bulk  carriers  was  notably  affected  by  the  impact  of  sanctions  and 
geopolitical  risks,  which  affected  global  shipping  trends  and  increased  the  distances 
travelled for many commodities, including energy products. 

-  Conversely, the most noticeable reduction in CO2 emissions was recorded by container 
ships, which emitted around 2.9 million tonnes of CO2 less in 2022 than in 2021 (-7.6%), 
following  a  decrease  in  activity  in  EU  container  ship  ports,  a  decrease  in  the  average 
distance  sailed  (-3.9%)  and  a  reduction  in  the  average  speed  of  active  container  ships 
(-4.7%).  

-  CO2 emissions from oil tankers were also at their lowest in 2022 since 2018, mainly due 

to the impact of sanctions.  

Most ship types’ relative contribution to total reported emissions remained stable overall in 2018-
2022, even in the first year of COVID-19 (2020) and in the years following the UK’s withdrawal 
from the EU (2021 and 2022).  

Container ships, oil tankers, and bulk carriers were confirmed as the top emitters in 2022. 
They were responsible for around 55% of total reported emissions in 2022. Container ships alone 
were responsible for 28% of the total CO2 emissions. Two ship types (passengers ships and LNG 
carriers)  stand  out  because  they  have  shown  considerable  yearly  variations  over  the  last  three 
reporting periods.  

11 It  was  not  possible  to  recalculate  historical  data  before  2021  so  as  to  exclude  the  emissions  resulting  from  the 
application of the EU Maritime MRV Regulation to the United Kingdom. This is because the legislation does not 
require shipping companies to report emissions at voyage level. Therefore, throughout this report, the figures presented 
for the reporting years after 2020 are based on the reported data, which excludes the Regulation’s application to the 
United Kingdom (but only to EEA countries, including the EU-27). By contrast, the reported data for the reporting 
years 2018, 2019 and 2020 includes the Regulation’s application to the United Kingdom, which is accounted for as 
part of the EEA (the EU-28). 

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The distribution of the fleet’s total CO2 emissions between the different types of voyages and at 
berth that was recorded in 2022 was almost the same as in 2021. Voyages starting or ending outside 
the EEA represented the bulk of the CO2 emissions (around two thirds). Voyages between two 
ports in the EEA represented around a quarter of all CO2 emissions, in line with the share observed 
in 2021 after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. CO2 emissions occurring when 
ships are at berth in EEA ports represented around 6% of total emissions. These shares are in line 
with the volume of inward and outward flows recorded by Eurostat data. 

In terms of fuel consumption, the monitored ships consumed more than 43 million tonnes of fuel 
in 2022. Fuel consumption data for 2022 confirmed established trends for 2018-2021 – namely the 
shift towards light fuel oil, LNG, and diesel oil, which followed the introduction of the 2020 IMO 
limit on the sulphur content of fuel oil used onboard ships. The composition of the 2022 fuel mix, 
in comparison with 2021, highlights a decrease (from 26% to 22%) in the share of light fuel oil 
and an increase in the use of heavy fuel oil (from 48% to 50%). 2022 saw the highest recorded 
level of LNG consumed by the fleet (around +32% higher than in 2021), fuelled by an increase in 
the activity of LNG carriers combined with the accelerating uptake of LNG-use by container ships. 
The consumption of non-fossil bunker fuels remained negligible, as in all previous years.  

4.  The monitored fleet: shipping routes, speed time and time spent at sea 

According to Eurostat data, the total 2022 volume of inward trade flows increased by 2.5% and 
was nearly the same as in 2019. Compared  with 2021, the inflow from the United States (East 
Coast), Egypt, Norway, China, the UK, Brazil, and Canada (East Coast) increased in 2022, while 
the inflows from Russia (Black Sea and Baltic Sea), Nigeria and Türkiye decreased. The total 2022 
volume of outward flows decreased by 1.4% and was nearly the same as in 2019. It was primarily 
the outflows to China and the UK that decreased in 2022, but total outflows are still dominated by 
the outward flow to the UK. 

MRV data for 2018-2022 highlights the fact that speed variation was minor for most ship types. 
However, it is to be noted that, following an increase in average speed in 2020 and 2021, container 
ships recorded in 2022 a 4.7% decrease in average speed in comparison with 2021. This was a 
major driver of the reduction in total emissions for this ship type in 2022 (-7.6% on 2021). 

Between 2021 and 2022 the average time spent at sea decreased for 6 of the 15 ship types but 
increased for 8 ship types. Among the ship types that experienced a longer average time at sea in 
2022, passenger ships, LNG carriers, and bulk carriers have spent the longest total time at sea since 
2018. This indicates that there has been a recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and that the EU’s 
efforts to diversify its energy imports have been at least partially successful.  

5.  Technical and operational efficiency of the monitored fleet 

The  graphical  analysis  of  key  technical  and  operational  efficiency  indicators  shows  that  no 
significant changes took place in 2018-2022. Furthermore, the completeness and correctness of 
the reported data,  which improved  over the period, is  confirmed  by increasing data  correlation 

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values  between  key  technical  and  operational  efficiency  indicators 12  and  the  size  of  the  ships 
reporting under the EU Maritime MRV Regulation. 

Ships reported a better energy efficiency design index in 2022 when cumulated at fleet level (a 
5.6% improvement on 2021) and their average size increased by 5.7% compared with 2018-2021.  

6.  The implementation of the EU Maritime MRV Regulation in 2022 

In terms of implementation of the EU Maritime MRV Regulation,  the 2022 results confirm the 
continuing improvement in the quality of data. However, punctuality in data submission decreased 
after considerable improvements in the first 4 reporting years.  

12 The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Estimated Index Value (EIV) are assessed for the technical 
efficiency of ships. The Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI) and the Annual Efficiency Ratio (AER) are 
assessed for their operational efficiency. 

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