The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has announced that the shipping industry is likely to achieve its CO2 reduction targets by 2030.
ICS Secretary General Guy Platten said the industry can achieve the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) target of improving carbon efficiency by 40 per cent by 2030 compared to 2008 levels, as long as industry bodies continue to take action to implement maritime CO2 reduction measures.
Platten said: “We welcome the adoption of important new IMO regulations to strengthen and bring forward the application of the Energy Efficiency Design Index for several different types of new build vessel, including container ships. We are keen to see further progress on developing more short term measures to help the existing fleet reduce its emissions and are optimistic that IMO Member States can agree some additional regulations, during 2020, combining prescriptive and goal based approaches that will deliver further [greenhouse gas] reductions before 2023. If this solid IMO momentum continues then the industry is on track to meet the 2030 target.”
The Secretary General highlighted a range of measures which the shipping sector has already put in place to promote maritime CO2 reduction, including a shift to low emission fuels and stricter enforcement of pollution regulations across the industry. He noted, however, that short term emissions reduction measures such as proposed shipping speed limits had mixed levels of support from national authorities and could not guarantee long term results.
Platten added: “While short term measures are important, ICS continues to assert that IMO needs to move quickly onto considering the critical long term measures that will help the industry to deliver the very ambitious target of a 50 percent total cut of GHG emissions by 2050 regardless of trade growth. This can only realistically be achieved with the introduction of commercially viable zero – or near zero – CO2-emitting propulsion systems, which means that accelerated research and development programs have to be at the centre of the IMO strategy.”
