EMEA News
UK Chamber of Shipping: Maintaining Level Playing Field is "Essential" for Future Shipping Emission Regulation
David Balston, Director of Policy at the UK Chamber of Shipping, says that it is "essential" that any regulations to reduce shipping emissions ensure that a level playing field is maintained for all involved, noting that an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETU) would be "the worst of all outcomes," causing distortion to a global industry that is best regulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Further, with shipping having been excluded from the Paris COP 21 climate deal, Baltson says IMO must act quickly in order to regulate emissions from shipping and help the sector do its "fair share" toward achieving COP 21's goal to limit warming by 2 degrees.
"Maintaining a level playing field is essential and nor should any future regulation place a disproportionate financial and operational burden on shipping," said Balston.
"Similarly, any future measure must be technically achievable and consistent with sound transportation and economic development objectives."
The UK Chamber of Shipping says it has established a working group that represents all shipping sectors and classification societies, and is intended to examine previous chamber research on emission reduction measures, as well as to identify how the industry could be most helpful as the debate around how global shipping emissions should be addressed unfolds.
"It is clear that the industry needs to be working towards a low carbon future and that to achieve that, at some point, absolute reductions in emissions from the industry will be required. In order for that to happen, the industry must be incentivised both in regulatory and financial terms," said Balston.
Shipping companies who work to increase their fleet efficiency ahead of regulation implementation should be rewarded instead of penalised "as too often happens," adds Balston.
Stressing that it is also important the IMO retain its leadership role in order to avoid implementation of regional measures, Balston further suggests that the IMO must put a roadmap in place not more than two years from now that defines target dates and longer term goals, as well as the strategies with which to achieve those goals.
