A new study, reported on 20 October 2026, finds that shipping pays almost double its share into the European Union Emissions Trading System while receiving none of the free allowances afforded to other sectors. The authors argue that earmarked revenues from the ETS should be tripled to help build a market for sustainable fuels and technologies in shipping.
The study highlights a stark imbalance: shipping accounts for roughly 10% of emissions covered by the EU ETS but contributes nearly 20% of the system’s revenue. That divergence, the report says, stems in part from the fact that the sector has never benefited from free allowances, a relief granted historically to many other industries during the ETS’s earlier phases.
That lack of allocation means shipping meets a larger share of the ETS bill relative to its emissions. The study cited by reports frames this as a structural mismatch between contribution and support for transition measures within the maritime sector.
Financial imbalance and burden-sharing
The analysis places the ETS contribution and the absence of free allowances at the centre of its recommendations. It contends that the current flow of funds does not adequately translate into targeted investment in shipping’s decarbonisation.
To correct that, the study calls for a significant scaling up of funds earmarked specifically for maritime decarbonisation. The measure recommended is a threefold increase in revenues ringfenced for fuels and technologies that would reduce shipping’s greenhouse gas output.
SMAP mechanism as a delivery channel
The report points to the newly introduced Sustainable Maritime Alternative Propulsion mechanism, known as SMAP, as a practical route to redirect part of shipping’s ETS contribution back into the sector’s energy transition. SMAP is described in the study as an opportunity to create a market signal for sustainable fuels and supporting infrastructure.
Reinvesting a larger share of ETS receipts through SMAP would, the authors argue, help shore up demand for low- and zero-carbon fuels and the technologies required to use them at scale. That demand, in turn, would reduce investment risk for providers and help close the cost gap between conventional and sustainable options.
A new study by European Shipowners, as summarised by reports, underpins the call for tripling earmarked revenues. The study’s recommendation links the increase directly to the need for predictable, dedicated funding that can stimulate production, distribution and adoption of cleaner maritime energy carriers.
The paper frames the proposed reallocation as a market-building exercise rather than direct subsidy of individual operators. By concentrating resources on fuel supply chains, bunkering infrastructure and technology roll-out, the study suggests policymakers can accelerate a transition that the ETS pricing signal alone has struggled to achieve.
The reports item brings the study’s findings to wider attention at a moment when the EU’s carbon market and maritime decarbonisation policies are under close scrutiny. The juxtaposition of shipping’s relative emissions weight and its disproportionate ETS contribution is presented as a policy fault line that demands corrective action.
The study’s prescription is straightforward in form: increase the share of ETS revenues earmarked for maritime alternatives, and channel those funds through mechanisms such as SMAP to cultivate a viable commercial market for sustainable fuels and technologies. Sources indicated the research and its headline conclusion on 20 October 2026, setting out the central statistics and the proposed remedy.
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