Shipping EU ETS and decarbonization strategies for emission reduction
Abstract
The thesis is based on the decarbonization in the shipping industry and how ship owners can implement EU ETS for their vessels to reduce their carbon footprint. The paper concluded with a few technologies and mentioned some barriers based on the Literature review search and Interviews. The abstract of the paper is given below.
Abstract: It is reported that about 3% of the world's greenhouse gases (GHG) are released by the global shipping market. With rising technological advancements in the shipping industry, it is hoped that as per the IMO’s regulation 2050, all the ships should be a carbon free vessel. In accordance with the new regulations, most of the maritime companies started to plan customary practices in order to reduce their vessel’s Co2 emissions. With the goal of encouraging sustainable development within the shipping industry, the European Union (EU) has approved the inclusion of shipping in its emissions trading system. The EU-ETS is a ‘cap and trade’ system acting as a regulatory tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner, for this the EU sets a yearly cap on the amount of EU Allowances (EUAs) that can be traded on the market in the form of ‘Free Allocations and Auctions’. Major reforms evolved in the recent years, particularly the ‘Fit-for-55’ which was introduced in 2014, aiming to fulfil EU’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 and reaching carbon neutrality/net-zero by 2050. This article addresses the significance of the EU ETS along with the implementation challenges. In order to obtain a general understanding of the system, fifteen participants from four different shipping companies participated in an interview procedure. Their responses made it possible to create codes and labels that were then subjected to thematic analysis. This study provides an overview of the technological measures that ship owners might implement to lessen their carbon footprint and associated barriers by analyzing the answers provided in the interview and the literature review.