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International shipping industry groups have teamed up with prominent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to lobby for a bigger role in how the industry cleans up, and pays for, its carbon emissions.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) joined global NGOs Oxfam and WWF at this week’s UN climate talks in Durban to call for self-regulation by the shipping industry on climate matters.
The ICS is an industry association that represents over 80 per cent of the world’s merchant fleet.
In a statement released on Tuesday, ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe said that the industry would agree to contributions to a UN climate fund for developing countries, if the industry could determine its own regulation on pollution.
The Green Climate Fund, adopted last year in Cancun under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is meant to distribute US$100 billion annually by 2020 to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
“It is in the best interests of both the environment and developing nations for shipping to be regulated via our industry regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), with the same rules for carbon reduction applying to all internationally trading ships, but in a manner which respects the principles of the UN climate convention,” he said.
Mr Hinchcliffe added that the industry had a “clear preference” for raising funds through measures linked to ships’ fuel consumption, such as a fuel tax, as compared to an emissions trading scheme. Emissions trading schemes require participating companies to purchase permits for the emissions they produce.
As global climate negotiations pick up pace this week, the shipping industry’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – which account for just over three per cent of overall emissions – have come under increasing scrutiny from the international community.
Complete post at:
http://www.eco-business.com/features/shipping-industry-seeks-self-regulation-on-emissions/
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