ECSA Calls for SMAP's ETS Allocation to Be at Least Tripled
ECSA's 15 October study asks EU lawmakers to at least triple the ETS revenues earmarked for SMAP; the Commission has proposed 110 million allowances.
IMPACT SNAPSHOT
- Who is affected
- Mediterranean
ECSA’s Call, 15 October
European Shipowners (ECSA) published a study on 15 October 2026 and urged the European Parliament and the Council to raise the EU ETS revenues earmarked for the proposed Sustainable Maritime Alternative Propulsion (SMAP) mechanism at least threefold. Hellenic Shipping News republished ECSA’s statement on 21 October 2026.
The figures below are ECSA’s estimates and its request to EU lawmakers. They are not an adopted EU decision. The European Commission has proposed 110 million allowances for SMAP; ECSA’s study finds that this amount would meet only a third of the need.
What ECSA’s Study Says
According to ECSA, shipping accounts for around 10% of emissions covered by the EU ETS, yet its share of the ETS bill is almost 20%. ECSA also says that, unlike other sectors, shipping has never received free allowances.
According to ECSA’s study, SMAP requires at least 330 million allowances (EUR 30 billion) to help build a market for sustainable fuels and technologies in shipping. ECSA says this support must extend to every sustainable fuel and technology that facilitates shipping’s energy transition, energy efficiency projects included. It presents the increase as crucial to helping shipping meet the 2040 target of FuelEU Maritime.
ECSA Secretary General Sotiris Raptis said the European Parliament and the Council “must at least triple the earmarked ETS revenues in SMAP” to send a credible market signal for scaling up sustainable maritime fuels and technologies, energy efficiency projects included. He added that SMAP “can contribute to the energy transition of shipping, but only if it is sized to match the scale of the challenge and covers all technologies that deliver carbon savings.”
What It Means for Fleet Operators
The Commission figure is a proposal, and ECSA has addressed its call to the Parliament and the Council. ECSA’s 330 million allowances is its request, not an allocation. For owners and managers paying EU ETS costs, the outcome of that process will show how much of shipping’s ETS contribution could return to the sector as support for fuels, technologies and efficiency projects.
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