ICS to IMO: Set hefty CO2 reduction targets
MAY 15, 2017 — At its Annual General Meeting, held in Istanbul, Turkey, May 9 through 11, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) agreed to urge the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to
MAY 15, 2017 — At its Annual General Meeting, held in Istanbul, Turkey, May 9 through 11, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) agreed to urge the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to
FEBRUARY 24, 2017 — Unless the IMO makes significant progress on reducing CO2 emissions from shipping, the industry could face regional action not only from the EU, but also from Canada or
DECEMBER 14, 2016 — A new EU regulation that entered into force in July 2015 will, from January 1, 2018, require large ships using EU ports to report their verified annual emissions
NOVEMBER 9, 2016 — The IMO CO2 road map for shipping was the focus of a European Parliament debriefing facilitated by ECSA (European Community Shipowners Association) this morning. The road map foresees
NOVEMBER 1, 2016 — The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has applauded the agreement by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) to develop a comprehensive road map for addressing CO2 emissions from
JULY 1, 2016 — The Danish Shipowners’ Association supports global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions from shipping and Danish shipping companies are already undertaking a number of initiatives to limit these emissions.
APRIL 22, 2016 — IMO’s Marine Environment Committee (MEPC) has apparently made some progress on CO2 reduction at its meeting in London this week, particularly on the adoption of a global CO2
Be that as it may, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says it “greatly welcomes” the agreement and that “the shipping industry remains committed to ambitious CO2 emission reduction across the entire world merchant fleet, reducing CO2 per tonne-km by at least 50% before 2050 compared to 2007.”
Despite the absence of an explicit reference to shipping, ICS says that the message from the world’s governments is clear.
“I am sure IMO Member States will now proceed with new momentum to help the industry deliver ever greater CO2 reductions, as the world moves towards total decarbonization by the end of the century” said ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe.
ICS will engage meaningfully in discussions at IMO, expected to begin in earnest at a critical meeting in April 2016, about the possibility of agreeing a CO2 reduction target for shipping. ICS is also pushing for IMO to finalize a global CO2 data collection system for ships, which ICS would like to see mandatory as soon as possible, prior to IMO deciding on the necessity of additional actions such as a developing a Market Based Measure.
ICS says that dramatic CO2 reductions from shipping will only be guaranteed if further regulation continues to be led by IMO.
ICS notes that, as a result of the Paris Agreement, developing nations such as China and India have accepted responsibility to curb their emissions alongside developed economies, however, the agreement retains the principle of “differentiation” that allows different parties to offer different levels of commitment to reducing CO2.
“CO2 is a global problem and shipping is a global industry” said Peter Hinchliffe. “IMO is the only forum which can take account of the UN principle of ‘differentiation’ while requiring all ships to apply the same CO2 reduction measures, regardless of their flag state. Unilateral or regional regulation would be disastrous for shipping and disastrous for global CO2 reduction, whereas IMO is already helping shipping to deliver substantial CO2 reductions on a global basis.”
ICS says that the complexity and scale of the Paris Agreement means that many of those involved may be disappointed by certain aspects, including the absence of explicit text referring to international shipping. At the start of the negotiation, ICS had hoped there might have been an acknowledgment of the importance of IMO continuing to develop further CO2 reduction measures, applicable to all internationally trading ships, and implemented and enforced in a uniform and global manner.
“Time finally ran out to agree a compromise on international transport acceptable to all nations, but nothing is really lost. No text is probably preferable to some of the well intentioned words being proposed at the very end of the conference which few people understood and which could have actually greatly complicated further progress at IMO” said Mr. Hinchliffe. “The Member States at IMO are the same nations that were present in Paris, but with officials that have a deep level of maritime expertise. Intensive work at IMO will continue with the global shipping industry’s full support.”
The European Community Shipowners Association also welcomed the agreement.
“Following the adoption in 2011 of measures to increase the energy efficiency of the industry, the agreed next step is a global data collection system of CO2 emissions”, said Patrick Verhoeven, Secretary General of ECSA, “The governments in IMO will resume discussions on such a system in April next year, with the aim of ascertaining the real contribution of international shipping to global CO2 emissions. We strongly encourage all parties to ensure that these discussions lead to the establishment, as soon as possible, of a mandatory data collection system.”
Once the data collection system is in place, the IMO will be able to decide on steps ahead.
“Together with our partners in the International Chamber of Shipping, we are ready to positively contribute to this process” said Mr. Verhoeven. “We hope that the European Parliament as well as civil society will join us in supporting Member States and the Commission to seek a global partnership in the IMO, as no regional solution could ever guarantee global emission reductions nor a global level playing field for shipping. The EU has adopted regulation that is meant to facilitate and precipitate a global solution for CO2 emissions from ships. It is now time to translate these commitments into a global agreement.”
European shipowners have joined the European Commission, Members of the European Pariament and various stakeholders in calling for shipping to be put back into the text.
The International Chamber of Shipping says it would be helpful for the new agreement to reiterate the vital role of the UN International Maritime Organization in the development of further measures to reduce shipping’s CO2 emissions. This would give extra encouragement to build on the global regulations IMO has already successfully adopted and which should reduce CO2 per tonne-km 50% by 2050.
However, says ICS, the absence of text is unlikely to inhibit the aspirations of governments – which are shared by the industry – for IMO to take further action.
“While text on shipping could be useful, the negotiators are now having to focus on the really high level things like climate finance to ensure the overall agreement is a success which is what everyone wants” said ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe.
ECSA Secretary General Patrick Verhoeven called the talks in Paris “a unique opportunity” to signal IMO member states to act decisively in order to further regulate CO2 emissions from ships on a global level.
“It would provide support for their ability to move forward and give new impetus to ongoing discussions, which we hope will very soon reach fruition,” said Mr. Verhoeven.
ECSA says that though the IMO has already made strides when it comes to the shipping industry’s carbon footprint, its work on CO2 emissions reduction is far from completed. It remains firmly on its agenda and will be considered again at the next meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee in April 2016.
ECSA says the shipping industry supports the establishment, as soon as possible, of a mandatory system of data collection from individual vessels, understanding that the possibility of further market based measures might be revisited after an IMO analysis of the data submitted by ships.
“We firmly believe that deleting any reference to shipping and the progress needed at IMO level is a missed opportunity. The EU has already placed its faith in the IMO process by adopting legislation that will enable and support IMO in establishing a global data collection scheme,” said Mr Verhoeven.”An irreversible process leading to lower CO2 emissions from ships has started. Efforts at IMO and EU level can only be bolstered by a clear signal from the highest UN instance on climate change. We sincerely hope that negotiating parties will seriously reconsider and heed our call for shipping to be reintroduced in the final climate agreement.”
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