The Sustainable Shipping Initiative has released a commissioned research from University College London’s Energy Institute that confirms the current regulatory framework is insufficient to meet 2-degree target.
The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) has called on the shipping industry to encourage and support the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to act urgently in establishing the timely and progressive frameworks required that will deliver a carbon strategy which enables shipping to confidently and effectively play its part in achieving the UNFCCC global CO2 reduction targets.
SSI has release a research entitled ”CO2 emissions targets for shipping” which it commissioned from the University College of London’s (UCL) Energy Institute, the academic body that also authored the IMO’s third Greenhouse Gas study. The research follows on from Smith et al. (2015), a paper presented at IMO MEPC 68 as a first framing of the concept of a target for shipping, and shows that the scale of CO2 emissions cuts required to meet a 2-degree target is far greater than the shipping industry’s current emissions trajectory.
The IMO is currently following a three-step plan towards the implementation of further GHG emission
regulation:
1. Develop a system for data collection on individual ship’s fuel consumption, emissions and
efficiency (e.g. MRV)
2. Agree and pilot a regulation containing further technical and operational measures for emission
reduction
3. Roll out the refined regulation across all ships.
According to the UCL research, these three steps are being pursued with no attention to the ‘goal’ or ‘target’ that the industry is hoping to achieve as an outcome (e.g. relative or absolute emission reductions or the level or stringency that might be required). The consequence is both a lack of urgency and a lack of focus to the discussions – it is hard to develop a data collection system if the purpose and ambition of the measures is not clear.
This IMO activity can be contrasted with the UNFCCC process, which has agreed on numerous occasions to limit global mean temperature rise to no greater than 2°C. This sets a clear expectation that globally there will be a complete transition away from fossil fuel by sometime between 2050-2100, and that all sectors will be expected to undertake a ‘fair share’ of decarbonisation consistent with a series of sectoral carbon budgets.
Further details may be found by clicking at the research below
