Overview
The likely implementation of a carbon dioxide (CO2) emission allowance trading scheme for the merchant shipping industry will have a significant impact on the financial, social and physical environment, at a global, European and national level. EU countries will experience varying impacts depending on a number of variables, such as country size, location (coastal or not), economic structure, and size of shipping fleet.
The project will assess the environmental, social and financial impacts that are likely to arise from the adoption of a carbon dioxide allowance trading scheme for the shipping industry in three countries: Cyprus, Greece and Denmark. These countries are representative of the majority of country 'types' found in the EU, in shipping terms. Specifically, Cyprus is a small country with a large shipping fleet; Greece is a large country with a large shipping fleet; and Denmark is an average EU country with an average-sized shipping fleet. Greece and Cyprus account for more than 40% of the EU-registered fleet, and thus provide a good basis for scaling-up the results of the project to the whole EU.
The project will demonstrate:
- The feasibility of an Emission Trading System (ETS) for shipping;
- The special conditions that may need to apply to different EU countries, for example: island states compared to continental states, or ship-owner compared to flag-ship countries;
- The general impact that a shipping ETS will have for individual countries. The project will have a transnational demonstration value: it can demonstrate to politicians and administrators, governmental bodies, EU bodies and the shipping industry the applicability of a shipping ETS, and will thus allow them to make more informed decisions on what form such an ETS should take.