The International Maritime Organization’s latest Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting has been branded as a “missed opportunity” by the International Chamber of Shipping’s President, Guy Platten.
Platten’s remarks were echoed by many in the industry; all frustrated by the discrepancy between political ambitions announced at COP26 and the perceived “can kicking” during subsequent technical discussions.
Related: Freight and Shipping Emissions Projected to Grow: OECD.
According to John Butler of the World Shipping Council; “debating ambitious targets for far-away deadlines avoids the more difficult discussions on discrete actions to be undertaken and should not be mistaken for actual progress. We need the political establishment to move from targets to action.”
Indeed, whilst key stakeholders in the sector are calling for more international cooperation on shipping sustainability, technical limitations make shipping a hard-to-abate sector. Provided this, the European Union (EU), for one, is drafting legislation which could include shipping in the Bloc’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
Related: LNG Use Necessary in Shipping, European Official Concedes.
How should we decarbonise shipping? Must states do more to aid operators? Should operators bear the costs?
Let us know in the comments.
ICS: https://shipinsight.com/articles/ics-labels-mepc-77-as-missed-opportunity/
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