Decarbonizing maritime transport: Italy’s way forward is through industrial synergies

About half of Italy’s imports and exports in terms of volume pass through its ports, which are also pivotal for the mobility of the 12% of the Italian population living on the country’s islands. A cruise ship docked in port, moreover, can consume—and emit—as much as a small city. 

Reducing emissions from maritime transport is one of the most complex challenges of the green transition. So it’s no coincidence that the sector is classified as “hard to abate.” There is no single, decisive technology, but rather a mosaic of possible solutions. A study by SDA Bocconi, in the Blue Economy Monitor in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo, highlights that the strategies adopted so far in Italy have delivered only modest results. From cold ironing to liquefied natural gas (LNG), these solutions are expected to reduce emissions by 5% at best, even in the medium- to long-term. 

To make a real leap forward, we need to look beyond ports and individual shipping companies, and aim for synergies with large industrial systems, particularly in the field of CO₂ capture and management. 

This perspective is especially relevant for Italy, which faces high energy costs, a fragmented port system, major hurdles to developing new infrastructure, and often conflictual port-city relations due to the proximity to historic centers. Yet, precisely because of these weaknesses, focusing on areas where the country already has capabilities could become a way to stand out from the competition at the Mediterranean level.  Examples are the CO₂ capture and storage technologies developed by Eni, Saipem, and Snam in Ravenna. 

The questions 

The researchers ask how Italy can tackle the decarbonization of maritime transport in a context where European and international models are not easily replicable. 

In recent years, EU policies have imposed new stringent rules. Specifically, since maritime transport is included in the Emissions Trading System (ETS), this and the FuelEU Maritime regulation require that operators consider not only the price of fuel but also the cost of emissions. However, there had been no clear assessment of Italian strategies (quay electrification and LNG incentives) regarding the extent to which they could demonstrably contribute to climate targets. 

Fieldwork 

In the study, researchers analyzed the effects of the two main measures financed with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR): 

• Cold ironing: the electrification of quays to reduce ship emissions in port. Despite substantial funding, the measure is subject to regulatory delays and lacks clarity regarding costs for shipping companies. 
• LNG: new ships and refueling infrastructure. Yet Italy is one of the most expensive countries in the world in terms of the price of for LNG, and infrastructure is minimal (with only one facility in Ravenna). Here too, the estimated impact is modest. 

The outcome is that, even in the best-case scenario, these strategies reduce emissions by less than 5%, far from the targets set by the European Union. 

Hence, the focus on a third path: capturing CO₂ on board ships, integrated with Italian industrial hubs. Ravenna already hosts the main Mediterranean hub for carbon capture and storage, currently serving sectors such as steel and cement. Extending this technology to shipping would mean leveraging economies of scale, with potential emission reductions far greater than LNG (which tops out, at best, at -23%). 

Another front concerns the 220 vessels of local public maritime transport. Here, the study suggests tailored approaches: direct electrification for vessels operating connections to smaller islands, and incentive-based green procurement schemes adapted to the sector’s seasonality and small scale. 

Looking ahead 

Italy needs less fragmented policies and a stronger focus on synergies. This study recommends moving beyond scattershot investments and concentrating resources on integrated projects that connect ports with industry. For port authorities and regions, the challenge is to design strategies according to local specificities, avoiding the copy-and-paste approach of standard solutions. 

The carbon capture perspective opens up new business scenarios: fleet retrofitting, setting up new partnerships with the energy industry, and managing storage infrastructure. In addition, the application of ETS will generate between 333 and 419 million euros per year for Italy starting in 2026, resources that could be reinvested in green innovation and infrastructure. 

Shipowners operating in Europe will need to carefully assess the energy mix of their fleets, considering not only the costs of different fuel options but also the growing expenses linked to emissions of all greenhouse gases. Moreover, they must look beyond traditional approaches and focus on industrial partnerships that can deliver economies of scale, as in the case of CO₂ capture. 

Decarbonizing Italian maritime transport remains a titanic challenge, but the study shows that looking beyond the sector’s boundaries by building bridges with heavy industry is a strategy that can pay off. 

Blue Monitor (Oliviero Baccelli, Claudio Brenna). L’evoluzione verso la mobilità sostenibile passa dal settore marittimo-portuale: il mix di tecnologie, strategie organizzative e politiche locali per cogliere le sfide del cambiamento climatico. (The evolution toward sustainable mobility runs through the maritime-port sector: the mix of technologies, organizational strategies, and local policies to address the challenges of climate change).