WWF 6 Oct 09;
Bangkok, Thailand – Negotiations to bring international aviation and shipping emissions under a Copenhagen climate treaty have begun in earnest at UN climate negotiations now underway in Bangkok, in a signal the world has lost patience with a lack of serious action by the international transport sector.
International aviation and shipping emissions, together more than one billion tons of CO2 annually and increasing significantly, were originally entrusted to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the Kyoto Protocol.
“In the 12 years since the Kyoto Protocol gave these emissions to the ICAO and IMO to manage, they have failed to pass a single binding measure,” said Peter Lockley, head of transport policy at WWF. “The delegates here in Bangkok are sending a message that these important sources of emissions need to be addressed.”
The timing is particularly important as the ICAO begins three days of meetings in Montreal beginning on October 7th in a last ditch effort to agree to meaningful measures.
“We expect a blitz of positive public relations from the ICAO this week as they attempt to hide the fact that all proposals on the table have very weak targets that are voluntary and could be achieved simply by buying offsets,” added Lockley. “What we really need are binding emissions reduction targets with a clear timetable for delivering policies to meet them.”
It is estimated that emissions from aviation and shipping will double or even triple by 2050 if left unaddressed, potentially taking up two-thirds of a 'safe' global greenhouse gas budget calculated to keeping average global warming well below the 2 degrees centigrade threshold for unacceptable risks of catastrophic or runaway climate change.
As the sectors are international, developed countries are calling for global policies. But in order for this to be acceptable to the developing world, the revenues from these policies must be spent on fighting climate change in developing countries.
“European Finance Ministers are currently considering proposals to use these revenues as climate finance for developing countries, but we are hearing strong indications that some countries would rather keep the money for themselves,” said Lockley.
"It's vital they see past their short-term interests and allow the money to flow, otherwise they will be wrecking the efforts of their own negotiators to reach a deal in Copenhagen."
Climate Pundit Seeks Faster CO2 Shipping Cuts
Jonathan Saul, PlanetArk 7 Oct 09;
LONDON - The United Nation's shipping agency must move faster to introduce mandatory efficiency measures for vessels, veteran environmental campaigner Jonathon Porritt said on Tuesday.
Failure do to so could result in a solution being imposed on the shipping industry by the European Union and others, he said.
Shipping and aviation are the only industry sectors not regulated under the Kyoto Protocol, which sets targets for greenhouse gas emissions by rich countries from 2008-12.
The seaborne sector accounts for nearly three percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and pressure has grown for cuts ahead of December's climate change summit in Copenhagen.
Delegates from member state countries of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in July approved non-compulsory technical and operational measures to reduce greenhouse emissions from ships.
"There is a sense amongst all of us that the IMO has ... been dragging its feet on all of this," Porritt said.
"Progress made has really been very slow indeed," he told Reuters in an interview.
The voluntary measures reached in July included an energy efficiency index to ensure the design of new vessels and existing ships were environmentally friendly.
The initiatives were circulated for trial use and will be discussed at the IMO's next committee session in March 2010.
CARBON WAR ROOM
The Forum for the Future charity, which Porritt co-founded, has joined British entrepreneur Richard Branson and others in a new group called the Carbon War Room seeking a more active stance from the IMO and the shipping industry to combating CO2.
The EU has signaled that in the absence of a proper agreement on CO2 cuts the EU could impose its own solution.
The bloc is likely to propose aviation and shipping should cut their respective carbon dioxide emissions to 10 and 20 percent below 2005 levels over the next decade.
"If the IMO is not able to raise its game, then the industry is going to find itself increasingly regulated to do what it is currently in a position to do voluntarily," Porritt said.
"The first thing would be to agree an absolute timetable for introducing these indexes," said Porritt, who stepped down as chairman of the UK government appointed Sustainable Development Commission this year.
An IMO spokeswoman said it had opted not to make binding decisions on climate change before December's summit.
"Rather, IMO looks to the Copenhagen Conference to provide, through a new framework treaty instrument, political insight and direction," she said.
"The organization stands ready to enact the necessary technical and operational measures needed to give effect to its members' relevant decisions."
Environmental groups argue the measures reached in July did not go far enough given opposition from China, India and Saudi Arabia.
Peter Hinchliffe, marine director with the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 75 percent of the global industry, said it wanted to see a mandatory design index in the "fastest possible timescale," adding shippers were in a constant search for increased efficiency to cut CO2.
"We already called for mandatory application but it was thrown out by the member states," he told Reuters. "Many of them are preserving their position for Copenhagen."
(Editing by James Jukwey)
