Proponents say this is an important prerequisite to further action, and NGOs Transport & Environment and Seas At Risk have called on EU states to proceed quickly to implement this measure and ensure that information on ship efficiency is shared transparently. This will enable commercial decisions to be better informed, they say.

However, green groups are disappointed because emissions monitoring doesn't address the main issue at stake: reducing GHG emissions from ships. Shipping is responsible for more than 3 percent of global GHG emissions and will double by 2020 if no measure is taken to curb them. The EU has thus far not taken any measures to tackle GHGs from the shipping sector, and progress within the International Maritime Organisation on a global market-based measure has stalled amid arguments over technology transfer and global climate change policy.

The call for improved energy efficiency for existing ships is a welcome move and efforts should proceed in parallel at the EU and IMO level but should not delay an early decision on an EU market based measure.

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