International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) chairman Esben Poulsson is calling for a crucial upcoming environmental meeting to begin work on drawing up an emissions reduction time table for shipping.
Speaking ahead of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) environmental committee gathering later this month, Poulsson urged delegates to come up with an emissions reduction schedule similar to the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) for nation states under the Paris Agreement.
This would involve what the ICS described as "the development of a timeline for the further reduction of the shipping sector’s greenhouse gas emissions."
Poulsson said: "We wish to see IMO Member States adopt a course similar to that agreed by governments in Paris and which reflects the spirit of the Agreement.
"This will help IMO Member States to demonstrate they are serious about building on the real progress already made by the shipping industry to reduce CO2.
"Our hope is that this can be done in a way that will also be acceptable to developing nations whose support will be vital if IMO is to continue making progress on a global basis."
But, he cautioned, the IMO first needs to come up with CO2 emission data collection system for ships.
He pointed out shipping is already ahead of other industries in adopting green house emission reduction standards through the Energy Efficiency Design Index and other measures.
"Shipping is the only industrial sector which already has a mandatory global CO2 reduction regime in place, applicable to the entire world fleet and which predates the Paris Agreement by four years," he said.
"Shipping has a very good story to tell. The most recent data from 2014 shows that shipping reduced its total CO2 emissions by over 10% in just 5 years, despite continuing growth in maritime trade."
