IMO CO2 Road Map Will Go Much Further Than the Paris Agreement: ICS

ICS says IMO's CO2 Road Map for shipping will go "much further" than the Paris Agreement.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Tuesday told the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) in Marrakesh that the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) CO2 Road Map for shipping is a "significant decision" that will go "much further" than the Paris Agreement.

"We are very optimistic that initial CO2 reduction objectives can now be developed by IMO for the sector by 2018. The shipping industry thinks these should reflect the spirit and ambition of the Paris Agreement while being appropriate to the circumstances that apply to international shipping – just as the commitments made by governments to UNFCCC reflect the circumstances of different national economies," said Simon Bennett, ICS Director of Policy and External Relations, at a side event at COP 22.

ICS says it believes that the IMO Road Map will provide further momentum to shipping's already "substantial" CO2 reductions, and could result in a legally binding Market Based Measure for the shipping industry.

"The final stage to be enacted by 2023 should establish a global mechanism for ensuring that these initial IMO commitments – which the industry wants to see agreed by 2018 – will actually be delivered," said Bennett.

"Key to next steps is the mandatory global CO2 data collection system which IMO has now adopted.  This will enable any initial CO2 commitments agreed in 2018 to be further refined using the very latest data on ships' emissions which will become fully available from 2019."

Bennett says the IMO's development of a mechanism to ensure agreed CO2 reduction commitments are indeed fully met will be based on the IMO's data system, and will identify the extent of technical and operational measures to deliver the IMO CO2 reduction commitments that are to be initially agreed upon in 2018.

Noting that, despite the growth of maritime trade, the shipping industry reduced its total CO2 emissions by more than 10 percent between 2007 and 2012, ICS says the rest of the world economy will likely continue to show emissions growth until at least until the 2030s.  

"But the shipping industry fully recognises that society expects more, and we therefore think it is vital that IMO Member States agree some truly ambitious CO2 reduction commitments by 2018," said Bennett.

At the end of October, ICS expressed disappointment that a number of environmental groups had already voiced criticism against the IMO's Road Map.