ICS: CO2 emissions from shipping could be cut in half by 2050

The global shipping industry has reduced total carbon dioxide emissions by more than 10 percent since 2007, according to the International Chamber of Shipping.

   The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said this week that the global shipping industry has reduced total carbon dioxide emissions by more than 10 percent since 2007 while handling increased amounts of trade, and predicted those emissions could be halved by 2050.
   The chamber said international shipping now contributes 2.2 percent of the world’s total CO₂ emissions compared to 2.8 percent in 2007 according to a 2014 study by the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization. At the same time, ICS says ships carry about 90 percent of world trade.
   “These are genuine reductions through fuel efficiency, without the need for complex virtual measures such as carbon offsets,” said ICS Secretary General Peter Hinchliffe. “With bigger ships, better engines and smarter speed management, the industry is confident of a 50 percent CO2 reduction by 2050 when the entire world fleet will comprise super fuel-efficient ships, many using clean fuels such as LNG.”
   The chamber made its comments in advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris in December.
   ICS noted the IMO has set a mandatory target whereby all ships built from 2025 (including those in developing nations) must be 30 percent more efficient than ships built in the 2000s. Those goals apply to 95 percent of the world merchant fleet under new regulations, which came into force worldwide in 2013.
   ICS said the IMO is the only place that can ensure that the entire world fleet will continue to deliver further CO₂ reductions, regardless of a ship’s flag, while respecting the U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) principle of “Common But Differentiated Responsibility.”
   “With full industry support, IMO is now developing additional measures. The first step will be the collection of CO₂ emissions data from all individual ships, which the industry would like to see mandatory by 2018,” said the chamber.
   According to ICS, the IMO is studying options for developing a “market based measure” (MBM) for controlling CO₂ emissions from ships.
   “The real challenge will be to develop a mechanism that can reconcile the vital principle that the same rules must apply to all ships, regardless of flag, with the equally important UNFCCC principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR). If an MBM is what governments want, the only place to deliver this is IMO, which has already shown it is capable of regulating CO₂ from ships globally while taking full account of CBDR. Almost 70 percent of the merchant fleet is registered with countries not covered by Annex I of the Kyoto Protocol.  But these ships are already covered by comprehensive IMO rules on CO₂ reduction,” said the chamber.
   If the IMO members “decide to adopt a shipping MBM, the industry’s clear preference is for a global fuel levy, rather than emissions trading or complex alternatives using arbitrary and theoretical metrics,” it said. “The latter would seriously distort shipping markets and negatively impact on the efficiency of world trade by sea.”
   The chamber said the 10 percent CO₂ reduction achieved since 2007 is across the shipping sector globally, not just ships registered in richer countries which are the only nations required to make commitments for land-based CO₂ reductions under the current Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
   “The entire world fleet is about 20 percent more efficient than in 2005. With the support of the shipping industry, IMO has already achieved a great deal and is the only forum that can deliver further significant CO2 reductions from international shipping,” said Hinchliffe.