UNSUSTAINABLE AS AIRLINES
Shipping Industry Outlines Roadmap to Achieve Net Zero CO2 Emissions by 2050
A shipping industry trade group representing over 80% of the world’s merchant fleet has proposed a bold new plan to help the industry achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, doubling the ambition of the International Maritime Organization’s target.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) submitted plans to the industry’s UN regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), detailing urgent measures which governments must take to help the industry achieve net zero CO2 by 2050.
Currently, shipping is estimated to emit almost 3% of global CO2 emissions.
Just one month ahead of the shipping industry’s flagship COP26 decarbonization conference (‘Shaping the Future of Shipping’), the ICS is pushing governments to double the ambition of the IMO’s current target, which is to reduce emissions from international shipping by 50% by 2050.
The plans include a mandatory R&D fund to develop zero-carbon technologies, and the development of a carbon tax for shipping to expedite the transition to more expensive zero-carbon fuels.
In its submission, shipping accepts the vital need to accelerate decarbonization timelines. But it also states that a net zero target by 2050 will only be achievable if governments take the necessary actions. To facilitate this, the industry has taken the unique step of setting out the specific measures that governments must be take to make decarbonization by 2050 a reality.
“Talk is cheap, and action is difficult. So, our net zero offering sets out the ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’ for decarbonising shipping by 2050. We’re saying to governments that if they really want to reach net zero, they need to move from empty commitments to tangible action,” says Esben Poulsson, Chairman of ICS.
“A net zero carbon ambition is achievable by 2050. But only provided governments take the unglamorous but urgent decisions needed to manage this process within a global regulatory framework,” he adds.
The ICS says the adoption by IMO of a net zero target will send a very strong message sought by the industry, as well as energy providers, shipbuilders and engine manufacturers, so that investments in green fuels and technology can be accelerated and scaled.
Given the typical 25-year life of new ocean-going ships, thousands of zero-emission ships will need to be in the water by 2030 if the industry is to meet an ambitious net zero target.
Therefore, it is critical for the IMO to adopt those urgent measures required to accelerate an increase in what it calls “Technology Readiness Levels”. A key step is for governments to approve the establishment of the $5 billion IMO-backed R&D fund, known as the International Maritime Research Fund (IMRF), at a critical IMO meeting in November, just two weeks after COP 26.
This call supports the IMRF proposal which will provide guaranteed levels of funding to accelerate the development of zero emission ships, without requiring governments to use taxpayers’ money. Rather, the IMRF will be funded by mandatory R&D contributions from shipowners globally, via a $2 tax per metric of marine fuel consumed, which the shipping industry wants in place by 2023, says the ICS.
To expedite the transition to net zero, ICS has also made a comprehensive proposal setting out the framework for a broader carbon tax applicable to shipping, which will be considered by IMO Member States at a meeting in mid-October, to help close the price gap between zero-carbon and conventional fuels. This could be used to provide the billions of dollars needed to deploy new bunkering infrastructure required in ports worldwide and ensure consistency in the industry’s green transition, for both developed and developing economies, in the run up to 2050.
“We have expended a great deal of senior industry leaders time deliberating and analyzing the most effective and equitable proposals to ensure that we can decarbonize our industry quickly and effectively,” says John Adams, Chairman of the ICS GHG measures working group. “If adopted by governments at the IMO, these measures could lead to regulation that will swiftly move the shipping sector and associated industries towards a zero-carbon future.”
“Governments can make a huge statement of their intent to get behind this new timeline by approving the industry’s proposed $5 billion R&D fund in November at the IMO,” says Adams
The proposal also includes plans for the sharing of intellectual property among industry innovators in zero carbon technologies, to accelerate the pace of change within shipping.
“This is a unique case of an industry demanding to be more tightly regulated on carbon emissions, and putting its hand up to do the grunt work of getting there. We’re not trying to win headlines – we’re trying to reach net zero,” adds Guy Platten, Secretary General at ICS.
“If a net zero target is to be more than a political gesture, governments need to recognise the magnitude of the challenge of phasing-out CO2 emissions from large oceangoing ships. Only these proposed measures can tackle the innovation and knowledge gap, and challenges of a global equitable transition, that shipping’s decarbonization presents,” Platten says.
International Chamber of Shipping commits to net zero by 2050
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents 80% of the global shipping industry, has now come out in favour of shipping going net zero by 2050, submitting plans to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a month before the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meets. The ICS net zero stance comes in the same week the world’s top miners as well as global airlines have adopted similar pledges.
The plans submitted are twice as ambitious as IMO’s current goals of reducing emissions by at least 50% compared to 2008 levels by the mid-point of century, and come as a host of other bodies and member states have echoed similar net zero calls.
The plans submitted by the ICS include a compulsory R&D fund to develop zero-carbon technologies, and the development of a carbon levy for shipping to expedite the transition to more expensive zero-carbon fuels.
The ICS restated its keenness for member states to approve its $5bn IMO Maritime Research Fund (IMRF) next month, a levy designed to accelerate the development of zero emission ships.
ICS has also made a comprehensive proposal setting out the architecture for a broader carbon levy applicable to shipping.
Governments need to recognise the magnitude of the challenge of phasing-out CO2 emissions from large oceangoing ships
Esben Poulsson, chairman of ICS, said: “Talk is cheap, and action is difficult. So, our net zero offering sets out the how as well as the what for decarbonising shipping by 2050. We’re saying to governments that if they really want to reach net zero, they need to move from empty commitments to tangible action. A net zero carbon ambition is achievable by 2050. But only provided governments take the unglamorous but urgent decisions needed to manage this process within a global regulatory framework.”
The proposal also includes plans for the sharing of intellectual property amongst industry innovators in zero carbon technologies, to accelerate the pace of change within shipping.
Guy Platten, secretary general of ICS, claimed: “This is a unique case of an industry demanding to be more tightly regulated on carbon emissions, and putting its hand up to do the grunt work of getting there. We’re not trying to win headlines – we’re trying to reach net zero.
“If a net zero target is to be more than a political gesture, governments need to recognise the magnitude of the challenge of phasing-out CO2 emissions from large oceangoing ships. Only these proposed measures can tackle the innovation and knowledge gap, and challenges of a global equitable transition, that shipping’s decarbonisation presents.”
At the same time as the ICS announcement, the world’s top miners committed to a goal of net zero direct and indirect carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) said.
“ICMM members’ collective commitment to net zero scope one (direct) and two (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is a pivotal moment in our history,” CEO Rohitesh Dhawan said in an open letter signed by the 28 chiefs of the world’s largest miners, ahead of next month’s COP 26, a major international climate summit to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.
With the run up to COP 26 generating plenty of headlines many other industries are also airing their own net zero pledges.
On Monday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) approved a resolution for the global air transport industry to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
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