Regulations on Shipping Emissions Face Setback at London Meeting - * ICTSD

Posted - October 11, 2010 - ICTSD - Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 10 • Number 18

Negotiations to establish energy efficiency requirements to help slash carbon emissions from shipping at the 61st meeting of the International Marine Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (IMO MEPC) ended in failure last week with parties unable to reach consensus.
The purpose of the 27 September-1 October meeting in London, England was to continue with progress made at its last meeting in March 2010, where countries had endorsed a package of efficiency standards on the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and Ships Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP). But the week-long meeting encountered stumbling blocks primarily over the issue of fair treatment for shipping countries in the developing world.
Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the shipping and aviation sectors have been charged with establishing their own emissions-cutting mechanisms. However, the industries have thus-far been unable to agree upon an appropriate forum or set of rules. The UN-linked IMO has emerged as the front-runner for establishing and enforcing carbon reduction rules, but consensus on what these rules are or how they will be enforced remains elusive.

Complete Copyrighted story at:
http://ictsd.org/i/news/biores/86349/