On Friday 11 April, the 176 Member States of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reached an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping to zero by 2050 (see EUROPE 13616/19).
The agreement will regulate how ‘clean’ the energy used by a ship should be, based on its impact on the climate. The measure applies to all GHG emissions produced during the lifecycle of fuels. It uses standardised criteria and a common certification system, creating a level playing field. This will prevent emissions from shifting to other sectors.
“In line with the EU’s net-zero ambitions, this agreement paves the way for long-term investments across the entire maritime fuel value chain, strengthening the industry’s sustainability and competitiveness for years to come”, said Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, in a press release.
“Our industry has long been labelled as ‘hard to abate’, but record industry investment and a new global measure can turn the tide on that”, said Joe Kramek, CEO of the World Shipping Council (WSC).
For the Transport & Environment (T&E) think tank, this agreement is “a victory for multilateralism but a failure for the climate”, because the pricing system “will exempt nearly 90% of excess shipping emissions from carbon penalties via Remedial Units”. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)