By
Laura Hyde |
Global ferry trade association Interferry has called for an “immediate halt” to the further phasing-in of the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS) for the maritime sector.
Interferry wants a pause on the further implementation of the EU ETS for the ferry sector, halting the planned increase from 70 per cent to 100 per cent in 2026.
Ferry services are critically important to Europe, transporting 400 million passengers and 200 million vehicles and freight units a year in the EU. According to Interferry, every Euro increase in the freight rate risks pushing freight volumes back to the already congested European road networks. While Interferry supports decarbonisation of the maritime industry, it accepted the EU ETS on the clear understanding collected funds would be used for decarbonisation efforts.
Interferry’s demand follows the EU Council’s decision to continue exempting road transport from a parallel ETS scheme, along with what it calls “the lack of clear regulations”’ on the distribution of the funds collected. In October 2025 the International Maritime Organization postponed the adoption of a global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) pricing mechanism for at least 12 months. This framework was intended to replace the EU ETS and would have set clear guidelines for the use of the funds collected.
“This action must remain in place until road transport is also in an ETS and funds collected are actually ringfenced for maritime decarbonisation,” said Mike Corrigan, CEO of Interferry. “The EU must deliver on its promise of a level playing field and ensure its climate policy supports, rather than financially drains, its most forward-looking transport sector.”
Johan Roos, director regulatory affairs at Interferry, said the exemption of road transport from the EU ETS creates an “immediate, severe competitive disadvantage” for ro-ro and passenger ferries.
“As it stands now, ETS creates an adverse incentive, pushing goods and passengers back onto already congested road networks due to higher ferry costs,” he said. “This directly contradicts the long-standing EU policy of modal shift from road to sea. The EU ETS is taxing intra-EU ferry transport by approximately €1 billion ($1.17 billion) per year, while we need support for production of e-fuels and substantial investments in electrification of EU ports for the benefit of charging electric-propulsion ships. Instead, the vast majority of these revenues are being diverted to national Member State budgets. This approach neither promotes competitivity nor cohesion and hinders the industry’s ability to invest in cleaner technologies.”