Carbon Emissions FAQ
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Q: Currently, what is the international process for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from ocean going vessels and what are the next steps?
A: Governments across the globe establish legally-binding international standards through the United Nation's International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO is the appropriate forum to create a comprehensive legal regime to address vessel carbon emissions; because ships are mobile assets that are registered in many different flag states and call at many different ports around the world. Ships need a predictable and uniform set of regulations.
Additional information about the international process: Effective carbon emission reduction policy also favors an international regime that applies to ships wherever they may be operating, because that is the approach that truly reduces CO2 from the shipping sector world-wide. More limited national or regional schemes would only address emissions associated with certain voyages or within certain jurisdictions. Development of an effective climate regime applicable to international shipping should apply to all international ship movements across the globe.
The IMO also possesses unique technological, operational, and legal expertise in the ocean-shipping sector. Through the establishment of binding international regulations, the IMO provides for a consistent and uniform set of standards for ships operating throughout the world, greatly enhancing predictability, compliance, enforcement, and the achievement of shared environmental objectives.
In 2008, the IMO successfully created a rigorous, new regulatory regime for those ship emissions that can adversely affect human health, namely nitrous oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM). Those rules were established as part of Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and are being implemented around the world. Annex VI, however, did not directly address carbon emissions.
Next Steps: Governments at the IMO are now engaged in negotiations to develop a global carbon emissions regime applicable to shipping. The organization is also drafting specific standards concerning ship design and other technical issues aimed at reducing CO2 emissions.
At the same time, governments participating in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are focused on developing a successor to the "Kyoto Protocol", whose provisions are effective through 2012. The Kyoto Protocol does not address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with international aviation or shipping. Instead, GHG emissions associated with international aviation and marine shipping are expected to be addressed through negotiations at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Both of these organizations were created to facilitate international agreement on standards applicable to these sectors, which routinely operate across numerous national borders and are subject to unique technology considerations.
Should the IMO fail to reach agreement on a global system to address carbon emissions from shipping, pressure can be expected to grow for the UNFCCC to address maritime shipping as part of a post-2012 greenhouse gas regime.
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