Investing in cleaner fuels, making ships hybrid, optimizing waste management… cruise lines presented their plan on Thursday to reduce pollution in this sector criticized for its environmental impact.
“Our goal is to achieve carbon-free cruises by 2050,” said the International Cruise Lines Association (CLIA) in a statement. To achieve this, the federation of cruise professionals has set itself a milestone of reducing emissions by 40% in 2030 compared to 2008.
Professionals are “confident” and have a “wide range of solutions” within their reach, assured Marie-Caroline Laurent, director general of CLIA in Europe, during a press conference.
The use of “low-carbon fuels” such as liquefied natural gas could thus “allow a reduction of approximately 20% of CO emissions2 by 2027, according to the CLIA. “This is not science fiction. The fuels already exist,” says Mr.me Lawrence. “One of the issues is going to be who has access and what the production volumes are,” she adds.
The CLIA also announces that it is betting on “hybrid ships” with “several forms of propulsion, several forms of energy available on board”. For example, cruise lines are considering a return to “sailing solutions”: some ships could be refitted with sails. Marie-Caroline Laurent recognizes, however, that this solution remains limited in its effectiveness. “In cruising, our objective is to go and see the destinations, we cannot afford to stay in the harbor at sea while waiting for the wind to blow up,” she explains.
Under pressure after a summer marked by protests against cruises in the south of France, shipowners operating in the Mediterranean and the French state signed a charter in October 2022 to accelerate the sustainable development of cruise companies. In this context, Marie-Caroline Laurent, CEO of CLIA Europe, describes among other things “the enormous efforts made on the treatment of waste both on wastewater and solid waste and the protection of marine life” and ” real financial and operational efforts to reduce the effects of emissions”, in particular sulphur.
For Gwénaëlle Ménez, spokesperson for the Collectif Stop Croisières, interviewed by AFP, “the total decarbonization of these floating cities is impossible”. “The question is whether the pollution emitted is worth it, cruise ships are the ones we could most easily do without,” she concludes.