{"id":1114250,"date":"2026-07-27T13:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1114250\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T13:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:57:20","slug":"study-warns-eu-ets-carbon-cost-recovery-right-may-fail-in-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1114250\/","title":{"rendered":"Study warns EU ETS carbon cost recovery right may fail in practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study by Erasmus School of Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam warns that shipowners and managers covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)<\/a> may struggle to recover carbon costs from the parties responsible for a vessel\u2019s operation, despite the EU Directive providing a statutory reimbursement right.<\/p>\n

As explained in the paper \u201cEU ETS payments in shipping: parties\u2019 responsibilities towards authorities and within the commercial chain,\u201d the current EU ETS statutory reimbursement mechanism is structurally flawed. Because it does not adequately account for private international law or the commercial realities of shipping, the researchers argue that the national reimbursement obligation is largely a \u201cpaper tiger.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the study, the EU ETS Directive creates the impression that a statutory reimbursement obligation is sufficient and that contractual arrangements are unnecessary. In practice, however, clearly defined contractual responsibilities for purchasing and surrendering EU Allowances (EUAs) are essential. Without them, and without owners having access to voyage and fuel consumption data, carbon cost exposure remains a significant risk.<\/p>\n

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If the statutory reimbursement right cannot be relied upon, parties throughout the shipping chain need to make sure their own contracts are watertight on carbon cost allocation. Expecting that the statutory mechanism will be sufficient is a risky strategy<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2026 commented Jolien Kruit, co-author of the study, endowed professor \u201cFuture of Maritime Law\u201d at Erasmus School of Law and partner at Van Traa Advocaten.<\/p>\n

The researchers found that, in practice, responsibility for carbon costs is determined by commercial contracts such as charterparties and management agreements rather than by the statutory mechanism. The study identifies three key obstacles to enforcing the reimbursement right:<\/p>\n