Shipping activity is most heavily concentrated in ports, and so are its pollution and emissions. Over 6% of Europe’s maritime GHG emissions occur during port operations, alongside high levels of air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5). Cutting these emissions is critical to improving urban air quality and protecting public health.
To help address this, the EU has introduced a mandate requiring ports to provide onshore power supply (OPS) by 2030. This measure will allow ships to plug into the local electricity grid while docked, thus replacing the use of fossil-fuel auxiliary engines and reducing harmful emissions and noise.
A recent study by DNV on behalf of Transport & Environment shows that only one in five required onshore power supply (OPS) connections is currently installed or contracted, with slow uptake across most ports. Of the 31 ports studied, only 4 have installed or contracted more than half of the connections required by 2030.
Link to the T&E briefing: https://www.transportenvironment.org/uploads/files/20250711_OPS_-Briefing_Final.pdf
Link to the full report: https://www.transportenvironment.org/uploads/files/2025_06_27-TE-FINAL-EU-report_rev1.docx.pdf
