Following a lengthy process, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) member states finally agreed in April to require international shipping to decarbonize and at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The agreement includes strengthening
design requirements for each ship type, a relative reduction of 40
percent in CO2 emissions by 2030, and at least 50 percent reduction by
2050, and subsequently a path toward a complete phase-out.
Although the members agreed on the
goals, concerns were raised over the lack of any clear plan of action to
deliver the emissions reductions.
Kirsi Tikka, Executive Vice President, Senior Maritime Advisor, at the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), in
an interview with World Maritime News said that collaboration by all
stakeholders as well as sufficient investment in technology development
are needed.
“To meet the targets established in
the initial IMO strategy for GHG reduction will require considerable
development time and financial investment that may not deliver returns
in the short term.”
Since the experiences of early adopters
of technology in complying with environmental regulations have not
always been positive, the industry “is unlikely to adopt new GHG
reduction technologies until there is a full proof of functionality and
ideally a cost/benefit analysis.”
Tikka continued that financing the R&D needed to deliver on the schedule established by the IMO strategy “will be a challenge for the industry – something of which the IMO is well aware.”
