Jun 22, 2017- (ICS) Four major international trade associations – BIMCO, INTERCARGO, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and INTERTANKO – have made a joint proposal to the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) concerning ambitious CO 2 reductions by the international shipping sector, which is responsible for transporting about 90% of global trade and 2.2% of the world’s annual man-made CO 2 emissions.
The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee will meet in London this July to begin the development of a strategy for the reduction of the sector’s CO 2 emissions aligning the international shipping sector response to the 2015 Paris Agreement’s call for ambitious contributions to combat climate change.
In a detailed submission, the industry bodies have proposed that IMO Member States should immediately adopt two Aspirational Objectives on behalf of the international shipping sector:
In addition, the industry associations have suggested that IMO should give consideration to another possible objective of reducing international shipping’s total annual CO 2 emissions, by an agreed percentage by 2050 compared to 2008, as a point on a continuing trajectory of further CO 2 emissions reduction.
The industry associations assert that it is important for IMO to send a clear, unambiguous signal to the global community that shipping’s regulators have agreed to some ambitious objectives for reducing the sector’s CO 2 emissions, in the same way that land-based activity is now covered by government commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The shipping industry wants IMO to remain in control of additional measures to address CO 2 reduction by international shipping and to develop a global solution, rather than risk the danger of market-distorting measures at the national or regional level.
Importantly, acknowledging concerns of developing nations about the possible impacts of CO 2 reduction for trade and sustainable development, the industry submission emphasises that any objectives adopted by IMO must not imply any commitment to place a binding cap on the sector’s total CO 2 emissions or on the CO 2 emissions of individual ships.
The industry associations also highlight that dramatic in-sector CO 2 reductions alongside increasing trade would require substantial and sustained research into the development of alternative fossil-free fuels and new technologies – something which they say needs to be identified by the IMO strategy.
The full shipping industry submission to IMO can be read here: http://www.ics-shipping.org/docs/default-source/Submissions/IMO/elements-for-inclusion-in-the-imo-strategy.pdf?sfvrsn=0
The 2014 IMO GHG Study identified that, in 2012, 2.2% of the world’s man-made CO 2 emissions can be attributed to international shipping. However, the IMO study also estimated that the sector’s total CO 2 emissions declined by over 13% between 2008 and 2012 due to technical and operational fuel efficiency measures, despite increasing maritime trade.
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