EU MRV 2024–2025 · New greenhouse-gas fields · Verified data

Beyond CO₂: verified methane and nitrous-oxide emissions from ships calling at EU ports

Since reporting year 2024, the EU Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system publishes verified CH₄ and N₂O emissions per vessel, not just CO₂. With the 2025 reports now in, this observatory tracks two years of those fields: where the methane is, how it is moving, what CO₂-only accounting misses, and what it means for LNG propulsion, shore power and the 2026 ETS bill. Figures below show the latest reporting year (2025) unless stated.

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Vessels (full reports)
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Verified CH₄ (t/yr)
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Verified N₂O (t/yr)
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CO₂eq above CO₂-only
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Fleet CH₄ from LNG carriers

Same ships, one year apart

Like-for-like comparison of the – vessels that filed full reports in both 2024 and 2025. The fleet decarbonised on paper while its methane rose.

Verified change 2024 → 2025, same fleet

Percentage change in verified emissions of the matched vessels.

What it means

Methane by ship type

Verified CH₄, tonnes in 2025. Methane is extremely concentrated.

What CO₂-only accounting misses

CO₂eq uplift over CO₂ by ship type (%, GWP₁₀₀ AR5)

The fleet-wide warming split

Non-CO₂ warming in CO₂eq terms: N₂O actually adds more than CH₄

At berth in EU ports

Verified emissions while moored, the share that shore power (OPS) can address

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CH₄ at berth (t/yr)
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N₂O at berth (t/yr)
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CO₂ at berth (Mt/yr)

Under the EU AFIR regulation, major EU ports must offer onshore power to container ships and passenger vessels by 2030. Verified at-berth data makes the size of that opportunity, including its non-CO₂ component, directly measurable for the first time.

Who owns the methane

Verified CH₄ by DoC holder (the company responsible under MRV). The top 10 of – companies hold – of all verified methane.

Top 15 companies by verified CH₄, 2025

Red: LNG-carrier operators · amber: cruise / ferry (LNG-fuelled passenger fleets) · navy: other

The methane-slip fingerprint

CH₄ intensity of each LNG carrier (kg CH₄ per tonne of fuel). The clusters sit exactly on the EU default slip factors, and the real-world FUMES average is off the chart.

Distribution of CH₄ intensity, LNG carriers

Dashed lines: EU default slip factors — 0.2% high-pressure diesel 2-stroke, 1.7% LNG Otto 2-stroke, 3.1% LNG Otto 4-stroke. Red arrow: the ICCT FUMES real-world average for LNG Otto 4-stroke engines (6.4% = 64 kg/t) is twice the highest default, beyond the axis.

The 2026 ETS methane bill

From 2026, CH₄ and N₂O enter the EU Emissions Trading System. The MRV file already reports the ETS-scoped tonnage per gas: the bill is computable today.

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ETS-scoped CH₄ (t/yr)
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ETS-scoped N₂O (t/yr)
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CO₂eq to surrender (Mt/yr)
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Extra allowance cost / yr

Full breakdown by ship type

Ship types with at least 20 full emission reports in 2025, sorted by verified methane.

Ship typeVesselsCH₄ (t)N₂O (t) CH₄ at berth (t)CO₂ (Mt)CO₂eq (Mt)Uplift

2024 vs 2025 at a glance

The full reported footprint of each year, all gases on one scale (Mt CO₂eq, GWP₁₀₀ AR5). 2025 includes the extended MRV scope.

Total verified climate footprint by gas

Stacked contributions of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O. Hover for the per-gas figures.

Method & source