The European Union has backed the world’s first law on green shipping fuels that sets ambitious targets for shipowners to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Legislators have agreed to a deal that will see the greenhouse gas intensity of fuels cut by as much as 80% by 2050. The regulation puts further pressure on the International Maritime Organization which only has a current goal of cutting annual emissions by at least half by 2050, compared with their level in 2008. Campaigners described the FuelEU Maritime regulation as part of the most ambitious package of green shipping laws ever adopted.
The level of greenhouse gas savings that must be achieved increases every five years: 2% as of 2025, 6% as of 2030, 14.5% as of 2035, 31% as of 2040, 62% as of 2045 and 80% as of 2050. In addition to carbon, the targets cover methane and nitrous oxide emissions
Unlike its aviation counterpart, the law does not specify which fuels must be used in shipping but rather demands that the greenhouse gas intensity of fuels is lowered over time.
