Brussels, 21/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission says the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has until July to find international agreement on measures that will reduce polluting emissions from the maritime sector. Discussions taking place at the moment are on the technical (mainly standard setting and toughening up of existing specifications for vessels and engines) and operational (reducing pollution by making operations as efficient as possible) arrangements. At this stage it is not certain, however, that the parties will reach agreement of the market instruments that can contribute to reducing emissions. At any rate, the Commission is of the opinion that it would not be wise to introduce such measures on a regional basis, given the extent of globalisation in the maritime sector (see EUROPE 10309). According to some estimates, by 2020-2030, between 30% and 40% of emissions will come from the growing far eastern fleet (China, India and South Korea). The European Community Shipowners Associations (ECSA) says that this shows how important it is that measures to tackle climate change are international. The key measure, says ECSA Secretary General Alfons Guinier, is a worldwide reduction in fuel consumption by vessels. A first step in this direction would be for IMO members to sign the convention on the Energy Design Index before the June 2011 deadline. If the measures provided for in this convention were implemented, this would bring a substantial reduction in the CO2 emissions from vessels, Guinier says. (A.By./transl.rt)