Shipping urged to act on climate priorities as UN formally adopts Ocean Treaty
With less than two weeks to go before the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopts a revised strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, the industrys climate negotiators have been told it is still possible to translate aspiration into action. The call to action came ahead of the United Nations formally adopting the Ocean Treaty in New York on Tuesday. The treaty was agreed to in March, and the UN said governments could now sign and ratify the deal. In order to meet the Paris Agreement 's 1.5-degree goal and avoid catastrophic climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions must fall rapidly before 2030, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said. In March, the European Union announced the worlds first law on green maritime fuels, setting ambitious targets for shipowners to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Legislators had agreed on a provisional deal under which the greenhouse gas intensity of fuels would be reduced by as much as 80% by 2050. Global shipping - responsible for more than 80% of international trade - emits around 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, the IPCC said. Camille Bourgeon from the IMOs environment division said there were mandatory energy efficiency regulations already in place at the global body. While he did not elaborate on the regulations, Bourgeon said he had delivered a statement to the UNs Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), emphasising the IMOs continuous efforts to ensuring that the international shipping industry assumes a fair amount of responsibility in combating climate change. The IMO is actively exploring ways to incentivise the availability of sustainable, low and zero-carbon marine fuels and technologies in the near future, he said. Simultaneously, it aims to provide support to developing nations, particularly Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries. This will help ensure a just and equitable transition to low-carbon shipping, and seeks to capitalise on the development opportunities arising from the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, Bourgeon said. In 2021, a group of Pacific island nations submitted a proposal to the IMO for a fuel levy on ships starting at US$100 (NZ$162) for every tonne of carbon emitted from ships, followed by a new fuel standard, which would essentially ban the use of fossil fuels. Led by the Marshall Islands, representatives from Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Solomon Islands said the fuel levy would generate up to US$60 billion (NZ$97b) a year in revenue. While it is unlikely a levy will be adopted at next months Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80) meeting, a date on a levy decision has not been set. Shipowners have said that the extreme weather from warming ocean temperatures had become a challenge for the industry. But environmental groups said while the extreme weather could influence port activity and result in lost or damaged cargo, the impact of shipping on the ocean temperatures could not be ignored. With more than 55,000 merchant ships trading internationally, maritime shipping accounted for about 3% of all global CO2 emissions, environment activist group Seas at Risk said. For most companies, supply chains typically have the biggest environmental impact of any part of a business, and beginning this year, there were two new regulations designed to make the shipping industry more environmentally friendly. IMO enacted new rules that now make it mandatory for all ships to measure energy efficiency and initiate the collection of data for reporting carbon emissions. Seas at Risk said it was important to limit the planets warming to 1.5C to hold off extreme climate disruptions that could exacerbate global conflict and drought, among other issues. For the UN Ocean Treaty, climate advocates said the powerful legal tool could be used to deliver 30x30 - the target agreed by governments under the Convention on Biological Diversity in late 2022. Greenpeace Aotearoa said the treaty also created vast ocean sanctuaries, free from destructive human activities on the high seas. First it must be ratified by at least 60 governments, so it can enter into force and become a legally binding instrument, the environmental group said in statement. The IMOs Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80) meeting will be held in London from July 3-7.