NABU together with representatives of cruises lines AIDA, TUI, Hapag Lloyd and MSC discussed the environmental and climate footprint of the cruise industry.
Considering the constraints of the cruise industry due to the pandemic NABU, Leif Miller, CEO of NABU, stated:
The pressure on the industry to adopt more comprehensive measures in shorter timeframes is only going to increase. Having an emission-free fleet by 2050 at the latest makes it necessary to start now and invest in appropriate technologies
NABU also highly welcomed that the major cruise lines in the German market took the first steps towards climate friendly cruises.
The transition to alternative propulsion and synthetic fuels on the basis of renewable energies is the key challenge for the industry
Furthermore, the environmentalists called for greater speed in this development, with Malte Siegert, Chairman of NABU Hamburg, noting that even though individual pilot projects give some cause for hope, the goals of the Paris Climate Accords demand much faster efforts by the cruise industry.
On the brightside, companies are making steps forward, with AIDA planning to use fuel cells and battery packs aboard their vessels. Also MSC announced similar plans.
What is more, shore-side power is increasingly becoming a standard for TUI, Hapag-Lloyd, AIDA and MSC. Accordingly, the political course must now be set quickly for the development of port infrastructure.
However, it was not so much the cost of switching to climate-friendly propulsion systems that seemed to be the problem. In fact, cruise providers and NABU agreed that the industry’s efforts must be supported by improved political conditions in order to help zero-emission drives achieve a breakthrough.
Including shipping in the European Emissions Trading Scheme, provisions for efficiency enhancement, obligation for onshore power and the planned adjustment of the Energy Taxation Directive could all be real game-changers for the shipping industry
NABU concluded.