The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) [ds_preview]today released a call on IMO and member states. They should show leadership to ensure shipping industry reduces emissions. With this, it could contributes to global below 2-degrees warming targets in line with Paris Agreement.
In a written statement, it set out what it believes are the required immediate actions for creating a framework to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from shipping. »Decarbonisation of the global economy is under way. We are now at a crossroads for the shipping industry. It must choose to embark on an accelerated innovation pathway to ensure its long term relevance as the backbone of global commerce,« said Ian Petty, General Manager, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative.
The announcement comes ahead of the Marine Environmental Committee Meeting (MEPC 70, 24th – 28th October). SSI believes that the IMO and all organisations and member states must demonstrate a commitment to the Paris Agreement. »This can be achieved by adopting a detailed roadmap for establishing shipping’s ‘fair share’ of global emission reductions«, it was said.
A fair share to reduce emissions
According to the organization, IMO’s ‘fair share’ discussions should lead to the swift establishment of reduction targets. These ‘Intended IMO Determined Contributions’ should be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in order to align IMO’s work with that of the UNFCCC. »Defining shipping’s ‘fair share’ of CO2 reductions must be balanced. Between the required ambition to deliver on the Paris Agreement, and the need to be equitable and affordable for the industry, as well as enforceable on a global basis to ensure change.«
The SSI also believes that the baseline for setting emissions reduction targets should be founded upon data from the IMO’s third GHG study (2014). It should not be linked to ongoing data collection and analysis from a global Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) scheme. This would only delay the urgent action that is required.
»The industry cannot achieve this alone through enhanced efficiency. It needs help from legislators to create a level global playing field, which will help incentivise the much-needed innovation in the industry. A minimum requirement at the forthcoming MEPC 70 meeting is to adopt a process to define shipping’s fair share of CO2 emissions reductions«, Petty said.
