A recent study found 63 cruise ships owned by Carnival Corporation emitted 43% more sulfur oxide in 2022 than all the 291 million cars in Europe.
A June study from sustainable transport campaigner The European Federation for Transport and Environment found that 63 cruise ships owned by parent company Carnival Corporation emitted 43% more sulfur oxides, a group of harmful air pollutants, than all the 291 million cars in Europe in 2022.
Though the IMO rule slashes the sulfur emissions of individual ships, it has done nothing to limit the increasing number of cruise ships in recent years. Compared to 2019, cruise ships are also spending more time at European ports and consuming more fuel, per the report. As a result, cruise ships overall emitted 9% more sulfur oxides in 2022 than in 2017, according to Transport & Environment.
Sulfur oxides released into the atmosphere can have adverse effects on human health and air quality, from exacerbating respiratory illnesses such as asthma to contributing to the formation of acid rain. A 2016 study estimated that the IMO's sulfur regulations would prevent 570,000 premature deaths worldwide from 2020 to 2025.