Set emission reduction timescale, ICS urges

ICS, which represents the world’s national ship owner associations, has proposed that the details of a CO2 reduction commitment should be developed on behalf of the sector, as soon as possible, by the IMO.

The chamber noted that it believed such a timescale would be a considered response to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change agreed last December. Although the agreement applies to countries and not industrial sectors, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Kyoto Protocol is still and makes clear that both the shipping and aviation sectors – each representing around 2.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions – have a responsibility to reduce their emissions. The International Civil Aviation Organization is understood to be working towards an industry wide emissions reduction programme for aviation.

Esben Poulsson, chairman, ICS, explained: “We wish to see IMO member states adopt a course similar to that agreed by governments in Paris and which reflects the spirit of the agreement. This will help IMO member states to demonstrate they are serious about building on the real progress already made by the shipping industry to reduce CO2. Our hope is that this can be done in a way that will also be acceptable to developing nations whose support will be vital if IMO is to continue making progress on a global basis.”

MEPC 70 will establish a data collection system for CO2 emissions from ships, after the support for the move was agreed at MEPC 69 in April. Data collection is the first step of IMO’s three-stage process towards setting emissions reduction goals, to be followed by data analysis and a decision on reduction steps. But the ICS and its members would like to see a timescale set more quickly.

Shipping remains the only industry to have committed to a mandatory global CO2 reduction regime, the IMO’s Energy Efficient Design Index, by which newbuilds after 2025 will have to be 30% more efficient than vessels built in the 2000s.