Europe keeps up pressure on shipping emissions
ENDS Europe Daily - July 18, 2008
The shipping industry must act "quickly and specifically" to address its rising greenhouse gas emissions, senior European commission official Jos Delbeke told a working lunch in Brussels on Wednesday. Mr Delbeke warned that EU legislators would "do their work" if the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and industry did not act. He predicted there would be a "very strong debate" on bunker fuels, including discussion of a numerical target to cut maritime emissions at UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December 2009, when a new global climate treaty is due to be sealed.
"It is astonishing how significant the emission reductions would be if ships today applied state-of-the-art technology," said Mr Delbeke. He also said the sector could help policymakers by improved reporting of its emissions. Industry representatives warned that it would be difficult to significantly cut emissions by 2020 because of the lag-time to get new, more efficient ships out on the water. They also argued high fuel prices are a "very, very big driver" to use less fuel and therefore cut emissions. Nevertheless, the sector is "fully open-minded" to emission trading, said Tony Mason, secretary general of the International chamber of shipping. Mr Delbeke predicted that by 2012 "the whole OECD zone will have turned to emission trading". Shipping emissions have increased, industry representatives said, but not as fast as world trade. Like World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Pascal Lamy several months ago, they emphasised the efficiency of shipping compared to other forms of transport (
EED 30/05/08).
Source:
http://www.endseuropedaily.com/artic...icle&ref=25882