EU approves ETS update that does not include shipping

The European Parliament and European Union member states agreed on a revision of the EU’s Emissions Trading System that, for the time being, excludes shipping.

   The European Parliament and the European Union (EU) member states on Thursday agreed on a revision of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) that, for the time being, excludes shipping.
   The new agreement gives the International Maritime Organization (IMO) the responsibility to come forward with an agreement in 2023, and only then will the EU step in if it deems the IMO’s progress on a CO2 reduction strategy to have been insufficient, according to the trade and employer organization Danish Shipping.
   Deadlines for IMO’s work on a global climate strategy are April 2018 for the adoption of an initial strategy for comprehensive emissions reductions from ships, including the definition of ambition levels, along with short, medium and long-term measures; and Spring of 2023 for the adoption of a revised strategy.
   “The Parliament has for a long time been dissatisfied with the pace and ambitions of the IMO negotiations, and therefore, continuously maintains the pressure by proposing own initiatives,” Danish Shipping Director of EU Affairs Casper Andersen said. “The pressure is now on IMO to deliver an ambitious strategy, but now the IMO countries have been given the time.”