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Delegates of member countries of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) met this week in London to prepare for next week’s Environment Committee meeting (MEPC 80) which is expected to adopt new climate targets for the shipping industry. Progress is difficult as member countries are still divided over the ambition to reach at global level.

Delegates must decide on a text with recommendations on how the MEPC can strengthen the IMO long-term Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, currently calling to halve emissions from shipping by 2050. Numerous calls have been launched to update the strategy in order for the shipping sector to meet the Paris Agreement climate objectives, but it is still unclear whether an agreement on net zero emissions in 2050 or “mid-century” will be reached. While EU Member States and the US are aiming to reach zero-emission shipping around 2050, a compromise proposal so far presented is still far from this objective, with for example the Japanese proposal to halve CO2 emissions by 2040.

In addition, the intersessional meeting is discussing a tax on fossil fuels, which many believe is the crucial tool to get shipping companies to go green. The discussion focusses on whether to have such a tax at all, and several developing countries are still nervous that a tax or levy could hit them financially because it makes transportation more expensive. Also, despite the fact that at least part of the funds from the tax could benefit developing countries. But it is still an open question how the income from a tax should be distributed and who should be responsible for it. Whether a tax should be USD 100 or USD 200 per tonne of CO2 has not yet been decided in the negotiations.

Source: ShippingWatch