After week-long discussions in London, the 175 member countries of the International Maritime Organization today adopted a revised strategy for global shipping carriers to implement a net zero emissions target by around the middle of the century. The outcome was welcomed by international shipping organizations but was criticized by environmental groups for being too vaguely-worded and for not going far enough.
Under the agreement, the member countries agreed to reach net zero “by or around, i.e., close to 2050, taking into account different national circumstances.” This wording appeared to especially reflect the reservations expressed by China, the world’s biggest polluter, which had pointed in a diplomatic note to “unrealistic visions and levels of ambition” to reaching zero GHG by 2050 at the latest.
The global shipping industry, which accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, has faced calls for more concrete measures such as a carbon levy that has been proposed by the European Union. But the text just points to measures including “an economic element, on the basis of a maritime GHG emissions pricing mechanism,” whose details would be worked on over the next year.
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said the unanimous support was “particularly meaningful” and that the deal opened “a new chapter towards maritime decarbonisation.”
The member countries agreed to “indicative checkpoints” to reduce the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 20%, striving for 30% by 2030 compared with 2008. They further pledged to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 70%, striving for 80% by 2040 versus 2008.
Like in the previous version, the targets are non-binding, and the text calls for compliance only when “national circumstances allow.” Some environmental groups slammed the agreement as a failure and called for national- and regional-level action to bypass IMO.
The agreement falls short of the objectives of green-shipping advocacy organizations like the Clean Shipping Coalition, Transport & Environment (T&E) and the Ocean Conservancy, but it is also considerably more demanding than the previous IMO target of a 50% cut by 2050.
“The IMO had the opportunity to set an unambiguous and clear course towards the 1.5ºC temperature goal (of the Paris climate accord) but all it came up with is a wishy-washy compromise. Fortunately, states like the US, UK and the EU don’t have to wait for China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia to act,” said Faig Abbasov, the shipping program director at T&E.
Shipping industry reaction
The industry “will do everything possible to achieve these goals” including the 70-80% absolute reduction of GHG emissions by 2040, commented Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General with the International Chamber of Shipping association..
“But this can only be achieved if IMO rapidly agrees to a global levy on ships’ GHG emissions,” he said, adding that the alternative marine fuels needed to be made more economically viable and incentives provided for their uptake.
Simon Bennett, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Deputy Secretary General, remarked: “ICS greatly welcomes the ambitious agreement reached by governments at IMO today for shipping to achieve net zero emissions ‘by or around 2050’, in line with the Paris Agreement and the commitment made by the shipping industry at COP 26 in Glasgow back in 2021. This historic IMO agreement gives a very strong signal to ship operators and, most importantly, to energy producers who must now urgently supply zero GHG marine fuels in very large quantities if such a rapid transition is to be possible.”
He added “The checkpoints agreed for 2030 and 2040 are particularly ambitious. The industry will do everything possible to achieve these goals including the 70 to 80 percent absolute reduction of GHG emissions now demanded of the entire global shipping sector by 2040. But this can only be achieved if IMO rapidly agrees to a global levy on ships’ GHG emissions to support a ‘fund and reward’ mechanism, as proposed by the industry. We urgently need to reduce the cost gap between conventional and alternative marine fuels and incentivise the production and uptake of new fuels at the scale now required to meet this accelerated transition. 2040 is less than 17 years away and the availability of zero GHG marine fuels today is virtually zero.”
BIMCO, the world’s largest direct-membership organisation for ship owners, charterers, shipbrokers and agents, described the decision as “groundbreaking”, noting that the newly adopted IMO GHG reduction strategy translates to a reduction of around 90% on average at the individual ship level due to expected fleet growth.
(Dreamstime photo)
