EMEA News
Environmentalist Sees Flood of Shipping Decarbonisation Proposals On the Way
Shipping can expect 'a lot to happen' in the second half of this year on policy proposals to tackle climate change, an environmentalist has said.
Aoife O'Leary, who is international climate director for the Environmental Defense Fund Europe, said the only current proposal on carbon pricing on the table will be joined by a multitude of policy initiatives.
"I expect a lot to happen [on the policy front] by the end of the year," she told a Lloyd's List podcast.
The environmental committee of the International Maritime Organisation, the MEPC, meets next week and then again in November. The target for shipping at present is for a 50% emissions reduction by 2050. However, O'Leary cites strong signals coming from some IMO member states and industry players that this should fall to zero.
"You can't tighten the [emissions reduction] target [for shipping] for 2050 without getting serious about policy."
For that to happen, a policy needs to be agreed by 2025 if the sector wants to see "zero-emission ships plying deep-sea routes by 2030".
The proposal on the table, from the Solomon and Marshall Islands, has put forward a carbon tax of $100 per metric tonne of carbon dioxide produced.
