Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026

Parliament voted on 11 February 2026 to extend the UK's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to cover maritime shipping activities. The order passed by 362 votes to 107, a comfortable government majority. The ETS is the UK's main carbon pricing mechanism, under which industries must purchase allowances for the carbon dioxide they emit -- the vote means shipping companies operating in UK waters will now be brought into that system.

The practical effect is that ships will be required to pay for their carbon emissions, creating a financial incentive to reduce fuel consumption and invest in cleaner technologies. The policy is designed to align the maritime sector with the UK's broader climate commitments and follows similar moves by the European Union, which extended its own ETS to shipping in 2024. The measure affects shipping companies, port operators, and by extension the costs of goods transported by sea -- a significant portion of UK trade.

The vote divided largely along party lines. Labour and its Co-operative partners, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the Greens, and Plaid Cymru all voted in favour. The Conservatives, Reform UK, and the Democratic Unionist Party voted against, with the opposition broadly citing concerns about costs to the maritime industry. There were no notable cross-party rebellions. The vote came one week after a closely related division on 4 February 2026 extending the ETS more broadly, which also passed comfortably with 392 votes to 116.