NEa tracks first maritime CO₂ submissions

Market: Biofuels, Emissions
22/04/25

The Netherlands Emissions Agency (NEa) has reported that shipping companies are being held financially accountable for the first time for their CO₂ emissions under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

The companies are now required to report their 2024 emissions and will have to surrender corresponding carbon allowances by 30 September.

Of the 378 shipping companies assigned to the Netherlands by the European Commission, roughly 60pc met the initial 31 March deadline for submitting verified emissions reports. The group represents more than 1,400 vessels, around 75pc of which are operated by companies registered in the Netherlands and 25pc outside the EU. An additional 14pc of companies filed their reports after the deadline, bringing overall compliance to 74pc as of mid-April. NEa expects more reports to follow.

Under the revised EU ETS, shippers have to surrender ETS allowances for 50pc of GHG emissions for extra-EU journeys. Surrender obligations for intra-EU shipping are phased in at 40pc of verified emissions reported for 2024, 70pc for 2025 and 100pc for 2026 onwards. From 2026, shipping firms will also have to report emissions of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).

The EU sees the move as essential to meeting its climate targets, as shipping alone accounted for over 124mn t of CO₂ emissions in 2021, according to the commission's report.

By Anna Prokhorova

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