Members of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Friday struck a deal to halve carbon dioxide emissions from shipping by 2050 in a deal that would force the industry to redesign fleets.
“The initial strategy envisages for the first time a reduction in total GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008,” the IMO said in a statement.
Major shipping nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the US, had objected to earlier drafts in two weeks of discussion at the 173-member organization based in London.
Photo:AFP
Some countries, such as the Marshall Islands — which are at risk of rising seas, but are also a major flag state — had wanted a stronger commitment and the EU wanted a 70 to 100 percent cut.
Yet, the agreement was widely hailed by stakeholders.
“This is a ground-breaking agreement — a Paris agreement for shipping — that sets a very high level of ambition for the future reduction of carbon dioxide emissions,” International Chamber of Shipping secretary-general Peter Hinchliffe said.
“We are confident this will give the shipping industry the clear signal it needs to get on with the job of developing zero carbon dioxide fuels so that the entire sector will be in a position to decarbonize completely,” he said.
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine also praised the deal.
“Today the IMO has made history. While it may not be enough to give my country the certainty it wanted, it makes it clear that international shipping will now urgently reduce emissions and play its part in giving my country a pathway to survival,” she said in a statement.
“We were pushing for stronger targets but still a great step that IMO seeks to halve the shipping sector’s greenhouse gases by 2050,” tweeted A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container shipping company.
Shipping and aviation are two sectors that were not covered by the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a deal struck to cap global warming at “well under” 2°C by the end of this century.
The aviation sector two years ago agreed to an emissions plan, but shipping has taken longer, because its reliance on long-distance ships that run on bunker fuel makes it harder to cut carbon.
Shipping accounts for about 2 percent of global carbon emissions and that share could rise to about 15 percent if left unchecked, the World Bank said.
Friday’s deal was “a welcome first step,” the Climate Action Network said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from