Two new reports led by UCL Energy Institute and Oceans Research Group show what’s at stake at the upcoming International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings and in the crucial period in the run-up to the Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting set for April. The IMO is expected to agree on policies, called mid-term measures, that will be key for achieving IMO’s strategic objectives – including completing international shipping’s decarbonisation by around 2050, and contributing to a just and equitable transition for all states.
The eighteenth Intersessional Working Group on GHG (ISWG-GHG 18) is the penultimate negotiating session, before MEPC 83 – the meeting at which IMO has committed to agree in principle, a MARPOL amendment draft for a new Chapter 5, which will enshrine the legal definition of the new policy measures, comprising of a technical measure – a greenhouse gas (GHG) fuel standard, which mandates reducing GHG intensity of shipping’s energy use over time and an economic measure – a price on GHG emissions, and specification of distribution of any revenues raised.
From the analysis of the submissions to the IMO, there are now two main camps, one that favours a global fuel standard (GFS) in combination with a levy and another with only the GFS with a credit trading scheme but not including a universal price on carbon. The former now has strong support from 51 countries, comprising of 70% of tonnage, a level of support which is important if a vote is called.
“The broad support we’ve gained from across regions highlights the rising global agreement on a structured carbon pricing mechanism that prioritizes fairness,” commented Albon Ishoda, the Marshall Islands’ special envoy for maritime decarbonisation, a man who has been leading from the front for many years in the carbon levy debate.
The great unknown at MEPC will be how much of a wrecking ball the US will be with returning president, Donald Trump, showing his disdain for green regulations in the opening weeks of his new administration.
Dr Annika Frosch, research fellow at the UCL Energy Institute, said: “With 70% of tonnage now supporting a global fuel standard along with a carbon levy, it is crucial that the upcoming round of negotiations focuses on discussing the distribution of revenues, both within and outside the shipping sector.”
Splash will be bringing readers updates from April’s MEPC gathering.
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