The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has made the adoption of an initial strategy for the reduction of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships one of the key items on the
agenda for a meeting of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) this week in London.
The IMO said the initial agreement "will be a framework for all member
states, which is expected to set out the future vision for international
shipping, the levels of ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions emissions and guiding
principles," adding that "following discussions in an intersessional working group
last week, the committee is expected to instruct a working group to
finalize the strategy for adoption.”
In a joint statement, Violeta
Bulc, the European Union’s commissioner for transport, and Miguel
Arias Canete, commissioner for climate action and energy, and other members of
the European Commission said international shipping currently accounts
for 2 percent to 3 percent of global greenhouse gases and are projected
to rise with the growing world economy.
“International shipping is currently the only sector not subject to a
global emission reduction objective,” the commission said, calling on the IMO to take "swift
and appropriate additional actions.”
“An emission
reduction of 70 percent, pursuing efforts toward 100 percent by 20150
compared to 2008 levels should be feasible and would correspond to an
adequate contribution from the shipping sector,” the group added.
David Paul, a minister from the Marshall Islands, said, "In the next days IMO will
determine whether Marshallese children born today will have the chance
of a secure and prosperous life or will have to leave the land of their
ancestors and set sail across the oceans to an uncertain future.
"The technologies exist now to allow shipping to transition to
clean and sustainable growth," said Paul. "Industry has clearly stated it wants to
act. And so do shipping customers."
The industry can reduce GHG
emissions now "or be forced to decarbonize at a later date, more rapidly
and in a more expensive and disruptive way," he added.
Meanwhile, a recent survey of 25 shipowners conducted by maritime industry consultant Drewry found only two-thirds of respondents believe another set of rules adopted in 2008 that requires carriers to burn low sulfur fuel or reduce air pollution from their vessels with scrubbers or alternative fuels will come into effect as scheduled in 2020.
A quarter of those shipowners surveyed believe the implementation date for the rules will be delayed, even though the MPEC voted in October 2016 not to defer implementation of a global limit for sulfur in fuel oil used on board ships to 2025 instead of 2020.
According to the IMO, the rule capping sulfur content in bunker fuel to 0.5 percent (mass by mass) will “significantly reduce the amount of sulfur oxides emanating from ships and should have major health and environmental benefits for the world, particularly for populations living close to ports and coasts.” There are already requirements for shipowners to use low sulfur fuel in some areas of the world including along the coasts of North America, in the Caribbean, in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and English Channel.
Two–thirds of the owners and operators responding to the Drewry survey plan to comply with the rule for their existing fleet by using low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO), while 13 percent are planning to meet the requirement by using scrubbers and 8 percent plan to power their ships with liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Drewry noted, however, “that gap narrows significantly when looking at compliance for newbuilding projects. LSFO is once again the preferred option (37 percent), but there is far more appetite for LNG (24 percent) and scrubber-installed ships (21 percent)."
At this week’s meeting the MPEC is expected to approve draft amendments to prohibit the carriage of non-compliant fuel oil, except when ships are fitted with measures such as exhaust gas cleaning systems, also referred to as “scrubbers.”
Shipowners have previously voiced concerns about whether sufficient quantities of low-sulfur fuel will be available, whether there is capacity to install enough scrubbers, and whether there will be infrastructure to fuel ships with LNG by the time the mandate comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.