The UN shipping agency approved further measures on Thursday (June 17) to boost the energy efficiency of commercial vessels although critics said the move fell short of what was needed to cut the industry’s carbon footprint.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) formally adopted the rules to reduce the carbon intensity of existing ships after member states reached agreement on the plans at a virtual meeting this week.
The measures add to already adopted energy efficiency regulations for new vessels and aim to reduce the carbon intensity of international shipping by 40 per cent by 2030 compared with 2008 levels.
However some environmental campaigners said the new regulations – which take effect by January 2023 – were insufficient.
Faig Abbasov, with European green group Transport & Environment, said the additional rules were “nothing more than a cosmetic measure”.
John Maggs, with the Clean Shipping Coalition, added that the 1.5 per cent annual improvement required in carbon intensity was “nowhere near the 7 per cent annual improvement needed” to keep warming within the Paris accord’s climate goals.
The IMO has said it aims to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from ships by 50 per cent from 2008 levels by 2050, but is under pressure to speed up action.
IMO Secretary General #KitackLim said last week that “failure is not an option”.
“If we fail in our quest, it is not unreasonable to conclude that we run the risk of having unilateral or multilateral initiatives,” he said at the start of the virtual IMO talks, which kicked off on June 10.
In April, US Secretary of State #JohnKerry said #Washington would join an international effort to achieve zero emissions in the global shipping industry by 2050.
The European Union has separately pushed for tougher action at the IMO.
