The shipping industry yet again failed to agree measures to reduce carbon emissions at a meeting last week.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has spent the last four years preparing an Energy Efficient Design Index (EEDI) for newly built ships to reduce emissions.
But the proposal, along with a market-based mechanism for reducing emissions, was blocked by developing nations including China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa because they would disproportionally affect their shipping industries.
According to current estimates, shipping accounts for around 3% of the world’s total emissions but is not covered by the United Nation’s Kyoto Protocol.
“It’s extremely disappointing to see such an obvious win-win policy blocked by a handful of short-sighted countries,” says Bill Hemmings, of campaign group Transport & Environment.
He says concerns about setting a precedent for applying climate-related policy to all countries equally are a missed opportunity.
“Developing countries will benefit just as much as developed countries from ships that use less fuel,” he says.
The IMO, which is coming under increasing pressure to take control of its sector’s emissions, has put off any further discussions until March next year.
The EU, which has threatened to bring in its own measures if the industry could not agree its own, may now move ahead with plans such as port or fuel taxes.