EU fishing fleet emissions halve in 20 years

A recent study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that emissions between 1990 and 2021 have reduced by 52% from 8.9 to 4.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

According to the study which looked at the challenges and opportunities facing the fishing sector in meeting its decarbonisation goals, fishing vessels represent just a small proportion of global CO2 emissions.

“The fishing industry’s environmental footprint is almost negligible if compared with other sources of GHG emission,” commented Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche.

“This becomes even more evident considering that, based on figures declared by the European Commission, fisheries emissions from the EU constitute merely 3% of the reported 0.1-0.5% of global fisheries emissions.”

The UNCTAD study also shows that EU fisheries emissions decreased as a result of a 28% reduction in the fleet size of the EU between 2000 and 2020, together with green investments such as diesel electric engines, efficient refrigeration and propeller systems.

“The fishing sector is reaching environmental goals nearly six years ahead of the stipulated deadline, an achievement worthy of admiration,” continued Voces.

“This accomplishment becomes even more noteworthy when contrasting it with neighbouring countries such as Norway, Iceland, or the UK, which are currently not aligning with this positive trend.”

To continue making gains, Europêche is urging the Commission to eliminate regulatory barriers such as fishing capacity constraints and to allocate sufficient funding.