Brussels () - Large ships in the European Union need to reducetheir greenhouse gas emissions by 80per centby 2050, according to a dealreached by EU member states and the EU Parliament on Thursday.
The agreement aims to decarbonize the bloc's maritime sector in linewith EU climate targets, the EU Council wrote in a statement.
The EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55per centby 2030 andreach climate neutrality by 2050.
The Council stressed that there will be temporary exemptions, forexample when ships call at small islands and areas that areeconomically highly dependent on their connection.
German Green Party deputy Rasmus Andresen, who was involved in thenegotiations, criticized the exceptions: "Due to very far-reachingexemptions, for example for island traffic and smaller ships, theagreed loopholes are too big."
As intermediate steps, the states and parliament agreed on a 2%reduction by 2025, 14.5per centby 2035, 31per centby 2040 and 62per centby 2045.
According to the parliament, the reduction targets apply to energyconsumed in or between EU ports. If the port of departure or arrivalwas outside the EU, the reduction targets would apply at 50%.
Ships with a size of 5,000 gross registered tons or more are to beaffected by the new rules. According to the EU Parliament, these areresponsible for the majority of CO2 emissions in maritime shipping.__dpa
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