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Greece poorest in Europe on attitude to tackling climate change from shippingGreece poorest in Europe on attitude to tackling climate change from shipping

Greek owners may have the world’s largest shipping fleet but they have rather less to be proud of on the environmental front based on a survey by Transport & Environment (T&E), which has branded the attitude of Europe's leading shipping nations towards fighting climate change as negative.

David Glass, Greece Correspondent

March 28, 2018

1 Min Read
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A new survey by the green group revealing European countries with the best and poorest attitudes to tackling climate change caused by shipping, places Greece at the bottom of the table.

Based on written and oral submissions to the IMO by EU countries, T&E ranks Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, the keenest environmentalists. Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Croatia prop up the 23 EU countries with a coastline plus Luxembourg, which has an active shipping registry despite not being a maritime nation.

The EU’s biggest shipping registries, Malta, Greece and Cyprus, received almost exclusively negative points given their near complete lack of ambition in the climate negotiations, said T&E which notes IMO is expected to agree a plan to reduce shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions at its environment committee meeting next month.

Faig Abbasov, shipping officer with T&E, said: “When the European Parliament demanded action on shipping emissions back in 2017, the big European maritime nations cried out the EU shouldn’t regulate shipping, as everyone was doing their best to get things done at the IMO. But these same states are now working to derail progress on a climate deal for shipping at the IMO.”

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climate change

About the Author

David Glass

Greece Correspondent

An Australian with over 40 years experience as a journalist and foreign correspondent specialising in political and economic issues, David has lived in Greece for over 30 years and was editor of English language publications for Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini in the 1970s before moving into the Akti Miaouli and reporting on Greek and international shipping.

Managing editor of Naftiliaki Greek Shipping Review and Newsfront Greek Shipping Intelligence, David has been Greek editor for Seatrade for over 25 years.

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