30% Europe’s LNG imports more polluting than thought
Europe’s LNG imports are 30% more polluting than is assumed by the EU in its green shipping law, a new study by Energy and Environmental Research Associates on behalf of T&E shows. T&E calls on the EU to revise its FuelEU Maritime law to ensure that the full impact of fossil gas is accounted for.
Fossil gas is seen as a cleaner alternative to traditional shipping fuels like heavy fuel oil, which is one of the most polluting fuels on earth. Today, there are almost 1,200 LNG-powered vessels globally with close to 1,000 on shipping companies’ order books. T&E has previously estimated that a quarter of EU shipping could run on LNG in 2030.
But, T&E’s newest study shows that LNG from major suppliers to the EU like the US, Qatar, Russia and Algeria is nearly as bad as the fuel it replaces. Even when the LNG comes from less polluting upstream countries like Norway and the UK, emissions reductions are limited.
The EU’s green shipping fuels law (FuelEU Maritime) calculates fuel emissions on a life-cycle basis, taking into account both upstream and onboard emissions. The upstream emissions from the extraction, production and transport of LNG can vary considerably depending on the fuel's origin and the way it is produced. FuelEU Maritime does not account for these differences, instead using a standardised upstream emissions factor of 18.5 grams of CO₂ equivalent per megajoule (MJ) of energy. This makes LNG a tempting solution for shipping companies to meet sustainability targets. But T&E’s analysis shows that emissions from LNG imported to Europe are actually 30% higher than this, at 24.4gCO₂e/MJ. A single large container ship running on LNG would therefore emit an extra 2,731 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent every year.
Inesa Ulichina, shipping officer at T&E, said: “Fossil gas will never be sustainable and is even dirtier than previously thought. Extracting, transporting and burning methane is a leaky business. This costly pursuit is leading major shipping companies to waste billions on a solution that won’t bring them any closer to their zero-emission goals. Instead, they should focus on investing in green e-fuels production. The EU and the IMO can stop incentivising fossil gas by fully taking into account its full lifecycle emissions - from the ground to the sea.”
T&E calls on the EU to amend the emissions factors in the FuelEU Maritime law to reflect new scientific data. The regulation enters into force at the beginning of 2025 when shipowners will start accounting for their fuels. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for its part is yet to determine the default emissions factors of different fuels including LNG.
