If inland shipping is to remain the greenest mode of transport, it will need to improve its environmental act in the coming years. If it fails to do so, it will be overtaken by road transport. That is one of the conclusions of the study ‘Medium and Long Term Perspectives of Inland Waterway Transport in the European Union’. In this study CE Delft performed the analyses of emissions and makes recommendations for reducing them. They key issue in this regard is to create financial incentives for ship owners to invest in modern, clean engines and retrofit technologies, complementing standards for new engines. The study was carried out by CE Delft, MDS Transmodal, NEA, PLANCO and Via Donau at the request of the European Commission, which will be using it as a basis for drawing up policy on inland shipping towards 2020, in line with the EU White Paper on transport policy.