ICS explained that shipping is committed to improving efficiency per tonne-km by 20% by 2020 with further significant improvements thereafter, and that the achievement of this goal would be greatly assisted by the recent IMO agreement on technical regulations to reduce shipping's
emissions.Â
Speaking alongside IMO officials on 29 November at a special UNFCCC event on international transport, ICS Director of External Relations, Simon Bennett, said that it was "no secret that Market Based Measures are controversial. However the shipping industry recognises that the need to prevent climate change is a political challenge as much as a technical one, and that shipping needs to play a constructive part in the discussion about MBMs."Â
As demonstrated by the recent IMO agreement on technical measures, ICS believes that IMO is eminently capable of continuing its discussions on Market Based Measures which, if governments so decided, could also involve a linkage to any 'Green Fund' that is established by UNFCCC.
However, ICS suggested that the high cost of fuel means that shipowners already have every incentive to improve their efficiency. Governments must also avoid the possibility of modal shift since if excessive costs are added to shipping there could be greater use of less carbon efficient shore-based transport modes which would generate additional CO2.
ICS is also concerned that some governments appeared more interested in how much money could be raised from shipping rather than the emissions reductions that this might deliver. ICS argues that shipping should not be treated as a 'cash cow', and that any financial contribution that it might be required to make should be proportionate to its share of the world's total emissions. Read the full report here.
Source: The Maritime Executive.
