Nina Chestney Reuters 1 Oct 10;
LONDON (Reuters) - The International Maritime Organization (IMO) failed to reach agreement on proposals to cut carbon emissions from new ships, delegates said on Friday, adding that further talks would be held in March.
The shipping sector accounts for nearly 3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Shipping is not covered by the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol and a new global climate treaty is still under debate, meaning the industry does not currently have any mandatory emissions laws.
As this week's IMO marine environment protection committee meeting drew to a close on Friday, delegates said there was little consensus on proposals for technical and operational measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
The committee will hold another meeting from March 28 to April 1 next year to discuss a market-based mechanism for lowering emissions.
"Progress is slow but I would absolutely reject that the shipping industry is not taking this seriously," John Aitken, secretary general of industry group SEAaT, whose members include BP's and Royal Dutch Shell's shipping units, told Reuters.
Talks this week have focused on a proposal for an Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) to make new vessels environmentally friendly -- put forward by Japan, Norway and the United States -- as well as a mandatory market-based mechanism.
"The worst outcome for a global industry like shipping would be to have differing emissions reductions schemes being imposed in different places - but that is the future shipping nations are courting by failing to reach agreement in their own forum," said Simon Walmsley, marine manager at environmental group WWF.
The meeting exposed rifts between developed and developing countries, with some refusing to acknowledge that shipping should have mandatory measures to reduce global emissions.
However, the fact that governments and industry delegates were debating the proposals and not dismissing them was seen as a good sign.
"Governments have given a promising signal this week that they're beginning to take the shipping industry's important role in tackling climate change seriously," said Tim Gore, Oxfam's EU climate change policy adviser.
(Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Shipping nations risk loss of control over greenhouse gas regulation
WWF 1 Oct 10;
London, UK: Shipping nations are risking losing their control over maritime greenhouse gas reduction standards, global environment organisation WWF warned today in the wake of another failure to reach specific agreement on curbing maritime carbon emissions.
The key environmental sub-group of the UN-linked International Maritime Organisation (IMO) concluded a week long meeting today possibly further away than ever from agreement on efficiency and technology initiatives and market based mechanisms to cut shipping emissions.
Under existing UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreements, the shipping and aviation sectors have been charged with coming up with mechanisms to cut emissions.
At its last meeting in March, the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (IMO MEPC) had endorsed a package of efficiency measures, specifically a mandatory energy efficiency design index (EEDI) and ships energy efficiency management plan (SEEMP). But the week-long meeting concluding tonight has failed to reach any consensus on implementing these measures.
“Like the aviation industry, the world’s maritime nations either need to find an emissions reductions solution within the IMO framework or face the possibility of less sympathetic regulation from elsewhere,” said Dr Simon Walmsley, WWF’s observer to the IMO talks.
“The worst outcome for a global industry like shipping would be to have differing emissions reductions schemes being imposed in different places – but that is the future shipping nations are courting by failing to reach agreement in their own forum.”
The world’s shipping industry accounts for over 2.7 % of total carbon emissions, and plays an important role in the global economy, transporting over 90% of global trade.
The meeting exposed further rifts between developed and developing maritime nations and was marked by a blunt refusal by some nations to acknowledge that shipping needs to contribute substantially to the global emissions reductions needed to avoid catastrophic climate change.
All shipping flag states are treated equally under IMO rules, while in other forums such as the UNFCCC concessions are made to the needs of developing states.
“Drawing such distinctions between developing and developed countries in shipping is not that simple,” said Dr Walmsley. “Shipping owners may be from a developed country, but their ships could be built, flagged and crewed in developing countries.
“Shipping states can either find creative ways to slash emissions together or see additional costs imposed on world trade as some trading blocks, states or even just ports bring shipping into their own regional schemes for reducing greenhouse gases.”
No rules required for one solution
Ironically, some leading shipping companies are steaming ahead with an option which dramatically reduces emissions with “no rules, regulations, investments or even research needed”.
Writing to mark World Maritime Day, traditionally held during the last week of September, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) CEO Arild Iversen and WWF International Director General James Leape noted that just a four knot reduction in sailing speed could reduce daily emissions by nearly 40 percent.
But with surveys showing goods in transit spend lengthy periods just waiting for connections, “slowing vessels down would not mean slowing up trade” the two leaders wrote.
”By planning more precisely, goods and cargo could actually travel slower, yet arrive to consumers sooner, while reducing emissions, cost and port congestion at the same time.
“We appreciate that manufacturers have capital invested in cargo, and sitting cargo is sitting capital, but a better balance between time and emissions can be reached.”
WWL, the world’s largest provider of Ro-Ro ocean transportation, has long been a key partner in WWF’s high seas conservation work and has a vision of largely emissions free shipping by 2040.
Cutting shipping emissions could raise billions to help fight climate change says Oxfam
Oxfam GB - UK Reuters AlertNet 28 Sep 10;
The shipping industry can do more to tackle climate change and raise billions of dollars to help poor countries cope with its devastating impact said international agency Oxfam ahead of a major meeting of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) starting in London today.
Oxfam is calling for government officials and shipping experts of the IMO - the international shipping regulators - to consider measures to reduce uncapped and rising shipping emissions, while at the same time raising more than $10bn per year in new climate cash through the auctioning of emission permits. Progress here would bring the world closer to raising the $100bn per year pledged by rich countries at last year’s UN climate talks to help poor countries protect themselves from the impacts of climate change and develop in a low carbon way.
Tim Gore, Oxfam’s EU climate change policy advisor said, “This is a unique opportunity for shipping to become less of a source and more of a solution to the climate crisis. The industry could give vulnerable communities a significant helping hand in the fight against climate change by both controlling a rising source of global greenhouse gas emissions and generating desperately needed cash so they can cope with its devastating effects.
 ”Shipping plays a vital role in keeping the wheels of global trade moving. The International Maritime Organisation could implement a fair scheme to control emissions, that won’t penalise trade from developing countries and will provide some of the vital resources needed to tackle climate change.”
The IMO is meeting just ahead of the next round of UN climate talks in China (4th-9th October) and the last gathering of the Advisory Group on Finance (AGF), which was established to identify ways to raise the $100bn pledged at Copenhagen. The group’s recommendations are due to be published in October.
Gore said: “Despite the continuing global recession rich governments can raise the billions required to help poor countries cope with climate change without dipping into their cash strapped budgets. The shipping industry can’t do it alone, but it can be part of a package of innovative finance-raising measures including those addressing uncapped emissions from international shipping and aviation, a Robin Hood Tax on financial transactions and re-direction of rich-country fossil fuel subsidies.
“No stone should be left unturned in the search for new climate cash and the shipping industry must play its part to raise tens of billions for a new UN climate fund ensuring poor communities get the resources they need.”
