IT’S now been two years since the EU Emissions Trading System was extended to shipping. But it hasn’t always been a happy relationship.

Shipowners are not necessarily keen paying extra taxes, especially the green variety. Meanwhile operators in Asia are not fond of having to create accounts in EU countries to report and pay their emissions bills, without seeing any of the revenue.

On the other side, greens don’t like the ETS because the extra cost per tonne — about €70 to €80 ($81 to $93) over the past year — isn’t enough to make switching to greener fuels worthwhile.

Shipping’s share of ETS credits is about 60m to 80m a year — less than 10% of the market, so the price of those allowances is outside the industry’s control.

It’s considered a good regulation for emissions on land, but a poor one for emissions at sea.

But now, an opportunity for change is on the horizon.

To find out what changes shipping wants, Lloyd’s List senior reporter Declan Bush spoke to World Shipping Council vice-president of environment and climate, Simon Bergulf.

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