Scottish political party aims to clamp down on cruise ship emissions

One of Scotland’s national political parties, Scottish Greens, has supported the implementation of emissions tax on cruise ships visiting Scottish ports.

PHOTO: Princess Cruise Ship in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. Getty Images

“A new levy on cruise ships visiting Scotland is to be developed by the Scottish Government in partnership with Local Authorities to tackle the twin challenges of slashing the amount of harmful emissions being released and impact of thousands of tourists on port communities,” Scottish Greens said.

“We will work with our partners in Local Government to empower Councils to charge visiting cruise ships a levy,” Scotland’s minister for the circular economy and co-leader of Scottish Greens, Lorna Slater said.

An emission tax could speed up the deployment of zero-emission vessels and attract investments, Slater asserted.  

According to the Scottish port operator Forth Ports, around 126 cruise calls were made in the tourist season of 2022 after pandemic-driven global lockdowns ended. Forth Ports operates seven ports in Scotland, including Leith-Edinburgh and Rosyth which are popular cruise ports.

Lerwick Harbour Port Authority estimates around 100 cruise ship calls at the port in a typical season. The port of Lerwick is a midway stop for cruise ships before departing for other destinations such as the Scottish mainland and Europe.

“From Ullapool to Greenock, Kirkwall to Edinburgh, Stornoway to Rosyth and many more besides, this will make a massive difference in supporting communities,” Scottish Greens transport and environment spokesperson, Mark Ruskell said.

This move is expected to encourage the global cruise industry to invest in a “greener and cleaner future”, Ruskell added.

By Konica Bhatt

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