Over 170 nations set to adopt the goal to cut the shipping industry’s gas emissions by 50% by 2050

More than 170 countries are all set to adopt the goal to cut the shipping industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050. This first step towards tackling emissions from the shipping industry fills a gap unaddressed by the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

The 1987 Kyoto Protocol had handed emissions from the aviation and shipping industries to two United Nations bodies, the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Maritime Organisation, respectively. This was done because the difficulty of attributing emissions to individual countries required an industry wide approach, different from country specific approach of the Paris Agreement. The shipping industry currently accounts for nearly 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

After a week of negotiations in London under the aegis of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), most countries are ready to sign on to a resolution setting a global emissions reduction target for industry. A few countries such as Saudi Arabia and United States continue to express reservations about the target. This resolution which is expected to be adopted on Friday is the first step towards a final deal to curb emissions from the sector that must be finalised by 2023.

The negotiated deal sets 2008 as the reference year. The shipping industry will require to halve its emissions from its 2008 levels by mid-century. This compromise worked out after a week of intense negotiations.

While there is broad acceptance across countries on the need to reduce emissions from shipping, there was divergence on the nature and level of targets that the framework should include. The compromise falls far short of the 70 to 100% reduction pushed for by countries such as Marshall Islands, France, Germany and the European Union.

At the same time, it is considerably more than what countries such as Brazil, Panama, India, Saudi Arabia, and the United States would have liked. Incidentally, Panama and the Marshall Islands who took opposing positions are among the six top flag states that together account for over half of the global shipping emissions.

Developing countries like Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India among others had argued that absolute emission targets would be unrealistic, expensive, and damaging to global trade. Most importantly these countries had argued that an absolute target would disadvantage developing countries by creating an un-level playing field. Instead these countries pushed for a reduction terms of carbon intensity of the ships arguing that absolute emission reduction targets do not provide an accurate measure. Instead, these countries had proposed focusing on measures to improve energy efficiency of ships and the shift to alternative fuels.

Despite its significant economic interests in the industry, India’s engagement in negotiations has been low key. Its concern, as expressed in other climate-related forums, has been to ensure that principles of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities enshrined in the UN climate convention are adhered to. Given India’s economic interest, there was some expectation that India would take this opportunity to provide a progressive compromise.

According to Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO of Vasudha Foundation, a Delhi-based not-for-profit working on sustainable consumption, renewable energy and climate change, the IMO meeting provided India with the opportunity to take a proactive and leadership role in the formulation of ambitious GHG emission reduction pathways by proposing innovative ways to operationalise the principle of common but differentiated responsibility while not compromising on the IMO principles.”