Written question asked by Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Thursday, 5 February 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 February 2026. It was answered by Keir Mather (Labour) on Friday, 13 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

UK Emissions Trading Scheme: Northern Ireland

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what analysis her Department has undertaken on the potential impact of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme expansion to maritime on the competitiveness of Northern Irish ports in attracting cruise business.

Answer: The domestic expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will only include emissions from international journeys, including cruises, produced while at berth in UK ports. This means, as outlined in the UK ETS expansion to domestic maritime Impact Assessment, that there is not expected to be any net loss of competitiveness for international cruise visits to UK ports relative to ports in the European Economic Area, where these emissions are already in scope of the EU ETS. As such, the impact is expected to be minimal.

Secondary information