The IMO decision of April 2018 to decarbonise and at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was an important milestone and was largely welcomed by the global engine builders’ community, CIMAC said. It added however, than only through cross-sector cooperation and an increased focus on R&D in carbon-neutral technologies will shipping be able to reach the IMO 2050 target.
Between now and 2023, the IMO will work out the legislative steps to enable the shipping industry achieve its goal and enable it to invest in new, low-carbon or zero-carbon power and propulsion systems.
Commenting on this, CIMAC said that if these challenges are met, the industry will most probably be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 50% by 2050. It explained that:
If new technologies can be developed and brought onto the market in time, there is a good chance that market mechanisms will enable the fulfilment of the IMO targets. In any case, failure is not an option: not only for the sake of shipping’s reputation but, looking at the big picture, for the good of future generations
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However, the council also added that there is no a ‘silver bullet’ to achieve the IMO targets. Despite the fact that there are some promising technical solutions, such as battery driven ships or fuel cells, they are not able yet to cover the propulsion of sea-going container vessels. Currently, some technologies may have the potential to become viable solutions for short-sea shipping, while others may need to be engineered to cover the demands of deep-sea.
What is more, CIMAC noted that current changes like the switch to LNG are necessary and helpful, but should only be considered as bridging technologies, as they are still based on fossil fuels. Hydrogen and carbon-neutral fuels can be a solution but they are not competitive now. Other ideas include innovative ship design, along with wider digitalization.
For this reason, there is a need for a broad agreement on effective R&D activities, with well-defined aims that prevent dilution of effort by pursuing several directions at once and so wasting valuable resources.
In addition, support from regulatory bodies is crucial, which in turns needs research funding. Nonetheless, ‘a clear and stable global legal framework is needed, which does not predetermine any specific technical direction.’ In fact, only a rule-making that can be technologically-neutral is able to attract the necessary investments globally.
In advance of the upcoming MEPC74 meeting of the IMO in May 2019, CIMAC would like to underline that the organization welcomes such partnerships and calls on IMO to continue to promote and support cross-sector initiatives and R&D in shipping
CIMAC concluded.