Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide an exemption to passenger ferry operators between Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the provisions of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026 which is similar to the exemption for operators to the Scottish Islands.

There is a high bar for any exemptions from the UK ETS. We are exempting ferries serving Scotland’s islands and peninsula communities given the unique and pressing challenges they face and the legal duties to consider island populations under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.

We will be evaluating the impacts of the scheme, as well as the existing exemptions, in a review of the maritime regime in 2028. We will not be extending this exemption to other UK islands at this time.