EMEA News
EU ETS Push "Clear Signal" of MEPs Frustration with IMO, Says EC Climate Action Head
Jos Delbeke, Head of the European Commission (EC) Climate Action Department, says Members of European Parliament (MEPs) have sent a "clear signal of their frustration that work on a global objective isn’t going fast enough," referring to steps taken by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on global shipping emissions, World Maritime News reports.
As Ship & Bunker has reported last month, MEPs voted in favour of the inclusion of shipping emissions in the European Union's (EU's) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from 2023 if the IMO does not have a comparable system operating for global shipping from 2021.
Delbeke says the MEPs' proposal should come as a wake-up call for the IMO that action on shipping emissions needs more urgent attention.
"We (the Commission) remain fully committed to a global agenda because shipping is a global industry, but the EP is a co-regulator," said Delbeke.
"We need objectives and clarity. Setting a target would be a useful way to reply to MEPs."
As Ship & Bunker has reported, Transport & Environment (T&E) has welcomed the EP proposal to regulate the shipping sector via a maritime climate fund.
However, alongside news of the draft measures' approval, both the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) issued statements against the decision.
