These savings would come from lower operational costs of using automated systems such as fuel flow meters or continuous emissions monitoring, which are already used by many of the world's largest shipping companies.

The cost savings arise from the electronic collection and reporting of data, which doesn't require man-hours, as well as the accuracy and verifiability of the data, which significantly reduces verification costs by third parties.

The report, for T&E by consultancy CE Delft, concludes that these modern monitoring systems also have the potential to enable fuel savings, and therefore lower emissions costs, by a significantly greater extent than the 2 percent CO2 cut claimed by the Commission in its proposal.

The Commission estimates that CO2 emissions from ships sailing in European waters amounted to 180 million tonnes in 2010. If these emissions were reported as a country, maritime transport would be Europe's 8th-largest emitter.

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