The international shipping climate targets

The Marine Environmental Protection Agency, MEPC approved new regulations to cut the carbon intensity of existing ships through technical and operative measures.

The draft amendments to the MARPOL convention would require ships to combine a technical and an operational approach to reduce their carbon intensity. This is in line with the ambition of the Initial IMO GHG Strategy, which aims to reduce carbon intensity of international shipping by 40% by 2030, compared to 2008.

The agreement lacks sanctions on ships that’s neglects to undertake the required measures to reduce emissions. Thereby the emission reductions are likely to be far from needed levels and much lower than the general IMO targets according to the Paris agreement. Specific targets were agreed for ro-ro and ro-pax vessels regarding energy efficiency.

The draft amendments will now be put forward for formal adoption, together with the findings of the impact assessment, at the MEPC 76 session, to be held in June 2021 in order to be implemented by January 2023.   

In additions, the negotiations to reduce emissions long term continues. The measures discussed are various market-based measures and increasing the use of low carbon fuels. The long-term target is to reduce GHG-emissions by 50% based on 2008 emission levels. Depending on world economy and the energy markets development estimations indicate that GHG emission from international shipping at 2050 will increase by 90 – 130% based on 2008 levels without abatement measures.