PARIS: The International Transport Forum called for global, enforceable regulations for the maritime industry to reduce carbon emissions by half over the next 35 years and entirely by 2080.
The ITF, a research arm of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization should impose the standards across the maritime industry, from container shipping lines to tanker operators, and set up a series of requirements that would include a carbon tax.
In a policy brief, ITF Analyst Olaf Merk recommended the IMO, which regulates shipping emissions, submit regular reports on the industry’s progress toward meeting the goals.
The call comes ahead the U.N.’s conference on climate change, known as COP 21, in December in Paris. The conference will bring together representatives from governments, nongovernmental organizations and U.N. agencies, with the goal of reaching a legally-binding agreement among nations to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
“It would be odd if countries are expected to adhere to emission targets but not the shipping sector, especially since it would be impossible to apportion shipping emissions to countries,” the ITF said in the policy brief.
The research and policy-coordination group said greenhouse gas emissions in shipping must be cut in half by 2050 and reach zero by 2080 to achieve the goals set out by the U.N. Framework on Climate Change. In 2012, the shipping industry contributed 800 million metric tons, or 2.2%, of world-wide carbon emissions, with the majority coming from container ships, bulk carriers and tankers, according to the ITF.
The ITF call contrasted sharply with comments by the chief of the IMO, Koji Sekimizu, who said in a speech in Singapore on Sept. 28 that the maritime agency alone should decide on emissions-reductions targets and outline how to achieve the reductions. Mr. Sekimizu has set an informal target of reducing emissions by 30% per ship by 2030.
Industry-wide rules would undermine the ability to shipping lines to meet demand for global trade, he said. A global cap “would artificially limit the ability of shipping to meet the demand created by the world economy, or would un-level the level playing field that the shipping industry needs for efficient operation, and therefore must be avoided,” Mr. Sekimizu said.
“If such measures are enforced, it will seriously distort the shipping industry and have a serious impact on the economy of almost all nations,” he said.
The ITF said specific and enforceable targets are needed, however.
The group said the industry could take measures such as reducing ship speed, ensuring ships are fully used, designing more efficient ships and using alternative fuel sources to meet the targets. ITF also recommended setting a carbon tax of $25 per metric ton of carbon dioxide.
“The reduction of shipping emissions would gain huge impetus if COP 21 would agree to an ambitious package for the shipping sector,” the ITF said in the paper.
The World Shipping Council, a Washington-based trade group representing shipping lines, says maritime shipping is “world’s most carbon-efficient form of transporting goods.” The group writes in an issues brief on carbon emissions that growing fuel efficiency efforts and the introduction of larger vessels have helped reduce shipping emissions relative to the goods being carried.
