Cruise ships, Italy first in the EU for pollution:«They produce more emissions than all cars combined»

According to the latest Transport&Environment report, Civitavecchia has the second most polluted port on the continent.The case of Venice is emblematic

When we think about pollution resulting from transport, the first image that comes to mind is a road paralyzed by truck and car traffic.Road transport, however, is not the only source of emissions.Taking sulfur oxides into consideration, among the main causes of air pollution, a few cruise ships are capable of polluting much more than millions of cars.The latest estimate emerges from relationship of the NGO Transport&Environment, dedicated precisely to the environmental impact of luxury maritime tourism.In 2022, the association calculates, the 218 European cruise ships emitted 4.4 times more sulfur oxides than the 253 million cars circulating on the continent.And of all the EU countries, Italy is the most polluted by emissions from maritime transport, followed in second place by Spain.

The most polluted Italian cities

Taking individual cities into consideration, we discover that Barcelona is the city with the most polluted port in Europe.In second place is an Italian city, Civitavecchia, where in 2022 cruise ships emitted 16 tons of sulfur oxides, a figure almost 40 times higher than the amount emitted by cars registered in the Lazio town.The other Italian cities that appear in the European ranking of the most polluted ports are Naples (11th), Genoa (13th) and Livorno (16th).A positive mention instead comes from Venice, which in the space of just four years went from 1st to 41st place.The reason is easy to tell.In 2021, the Venetian capital introduced a ban on access to the port for large cruise ships and emissions of polluting substances dropped by 80%.

«The transition to gas is a false solution»

Comparing the latest Transport&Environment report with the 2019 edition, the number of cruise ships and fuel consumption increased by 23%-24%.A situation that has led to a growth of the three main causes of air pollution:sulfur oxides (+9%), nitrogen oxides (+18%) and pm2.5 (+25%).To reduce their impact in terms of emissions, explains the T&E report, the main operators in the sector are investing in gas.A solution that allows us to reduce local air pollution, but which causes large methane leaks from the ship's engines.«Moving from oil to gas is a false solution – explains the director of T&E Italia, Andrea Boraschi -.It may help the cruise ship industry reduce local pollution, but it's terrible from a climate perspective."The alternative, the association suggests, is already available on the market:«Ports – adds Boraschi – can reduce pollution by forcing ships to connect to electricity in port, instead of running their engines».

Photo credits:ANSA/Luca Zennaro