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According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), carbon emissions from the maritime industry account for 3% of the world's total. To accelerate industry decarbonization, the EU has included the maritime sector in its Emissions Trading System (ETS), requiring shipping companies to purchase carbon credits for 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions from vessels over 5,000 gross tonnages starting in 2024. The threshold will rise to 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026[1]. In response, shipping companies have introduced a "carbon surcharge," which ranges from EUR 10 to 50 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) on routes to and from Europe, with pricing varying depending on the company and route.
Are carbon surcharges imposed reasonably by shipping operators?
To control costs, shipping companies will pass on part of the carbon costs to their customers. The carbon surcharge pricing set by various companies is shown in Table 1 below. The question that should be asked is: Is this pricing reasonable?