LONDON (Chatnewstv.com) — The International Maritime Organization began a meeting Tuesday to vote on what could become a historic, globally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry.
The U.N.’s maritime agency’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is meeting in an extraordinary session from Oct. 14-17 to finalize a regulatory framework that would be the first global, sector-specific mandate to cut emissions.
The proposed rules, which reached a provisional agreement in April, include a two-level fuel standard and a system requiring ships to pay for emissions that exceed set thresholds. The framework is designed to push the global fleet toward more sustainable fuels and energy sources.
Finland, a nation heavily dependent on shipping, said the measure would help balance the competitive landscape for its industries. In a press release issued Monday, its Ministry of Transport and Communications said the global rule would “level out the competitive environment, between the EU and the rest of the world.”
The Finnish government also stated that if the IMO adopts the measure, the European Commission “should assess without delay any overlap with EU law.”
Under the proposed regulations, ships with a greenhouse gas fuel intensity above the annual limit must pay a contribution for the excess emissions. Conversely, ships that perform better than the standard will earn “surplus units,” which can be transferred to other vessels or saved for future use.
The fees collected would be channeled into a new international fund, which would become “the largest climate fund in the world,” according to the Finnish statement. The fund’s primary mission would be to support the development of zero-emission fuels and technologies, with a focus on assisting the “least developed countries and Small Island Developing States” in their green transition.
Finland urged that the fund’s revenues be used “to rapidly develop and deploy solutions” and that special conditions, such as “operating ships in ice-covered waters, must be observed in the distribution of the funds.”
The IMO’s overarching goal is for the maritime transport sector to reach carbon neutrality by or around 2050. The plan includes interim targets of reducing emissions by at least 20% by 2030 and at least 70% by 2040, compared to 2008 levels.
If the regulatory package is approved this week, the rules will be further specified.
