Cruise Industry Responds to Latest Emissions Criticism

Cruise Ship. File Image / Pixabay

The cruise industry has hit back at the latest report by NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) to criticize the sector's environmental credentials.

The report's headline claim was that Carnival Corporation emitted 10 times more sulfur oxides than all of Europe's 260 million cars.

In its response to the report, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) suggests the picture that had been painted is not only unfair but lacks scientific merit.

The association says not only is the Cruise Industry an early adopter of Exhaust Gas Cleaning (EGCS) technology, lowering sulfur emissions as a result, it is also an early adopter of LNG propulsion that has lowered emissions.

The percentage adoption for EGCS and LNG "are unmatched in any other shipping sector and not fully appreciated in T&E's analysis," says CLIA.

While doing well as a sector, in terms of the big picture CLIA suggests Cruise are far from the lowest hanging fruit when it comes to curbing ship emissions, as it only accounts for less than 1% of shipping.

Even so, CLIA says the findings that were published have questionable scientific merit.

"In conclusion we welcome the involvement of civil society in this discussion but are disappointed that Transport & Environment have published this internal analysis, conducted by their own staff, without discussion or input from the cruise industry or the destinations we visit," said CLIA.

"We are also concerned that its results have been published without any academic scrutiny or peer review."

T&E's report can be read here: https://www.transportenvironment.org/publications/one-corporation-pollute-them-all

CLIA's full response can be read here: https://cruising.org/news-and-research/press-room/2019/june/reactive-statement-transport-and-environment-study