Invisible no more: Tracking ship emissions from space

Bought to you by:

Maritime transport underpins around 90 per cent of global trade and roughly 75 per cent of the EU's international trade, but it also accounts for an estimated 3 to 4 per cent of global CO2 emissions and about 14 per cent of EU transport emissions. As the sector moves towards stricter environmental regulation under the European Green Deal and Fit for 55 - including the extension of the EU Emissions Trading System to shipping, the FuelEU Maritime regulation, and strengthened Monitoring, Reporting and Verification requirements - the need for independent, reliable, and scalable emissions data has never been greater.

This webinar brings together two complementary projects working to make ship emissions visible. EO4SEM, funded by the European Space Agency, uses satellite-based Earth Observation - drawing on missions such as Sentinel-5P (TROPOMI), PRISMA, EnMAP and GHGSat - to complement existing AIS-based emissions models, filling gaps left by incomplete AIS coverage or ships sailing with AIS disabled. Through advanced inversion models, the project refines estimates of NOx, CO2 and methane emissions along major maritime corridors, coastal regions and ports, building a reference dataset that will help demonstrate the value of future Copernicus missions such as CO2M and CHIME.EMMA (Environmental Maritime Modelling and Analytics), led by Ocean OS in partnership with the Satellite Applications Catapult, the University of Plymouth and B4T Group, combines satellite Earth Observation, vessel tracking, hyperlocal air-quality sensing, meteorological and oceanographic data, environmental modelling and artificial intelligence to create a new generation of maritime emissions intelligence.

Developed through the UK Department for Transport’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), delivered by Innovate UK, EMMA transforms complex environmental and maritime data into actionable insights. By combining satellite Earth Observation, AIS vessel tracking, hyperlocal air quality sensing, meteorological and oceanographic data, environmental modelling and artificial intelligence, the platform identifies where emissions originate, predicts how they disperse through coastal environments, and enables users to test how operational changes could reduce pollution before implementation.

Demonstrated in Plymouth Sound, EMMA provides ports, regulators and industry with an independent evidence base to support cleaner shipping, healthier coastal communities and better-informed environmental decision-making. EMMA doesn’t just measure emissions—it helps ports, regulators and industry understand where emissions originate, how they move through the environment and what practical interventions can reduce their impact.

Join ESA, GMV, Ocean OS, the Satellite Applications Catapult and partners to discover how Earth Observation and artificial intelligence are helping make maritime emissions visible. From global shipping lanes to complex coastal ports, learn how EO4SEM and EMMA complement one another to provide the evidence needed for cleaner shipping, healthier coastal communities and smarter environmental management.