After the International Organization adopted new greenhouse gas reduction targets for shipping, some stakeholders complained that they fall short of the goal to stop global temperature rises from topping 1.5C.
But Tristan Smith, an associate professor in shipping and energy at University College London’s UCL Energy Institute, told the Green Seas podcast that while undershooting the Paris Agreement is disappointing, decarbonising the industry in line with its 1.5C goal is still within reach.
“This is a transition which isn’t driven only by the IMO. It’s driven by a combination of IMO regulation, regional, national and industry actions. And it’s also a strategy which will be revisited again in 2028,” he said.
“So unfortunately, for the industry, it means that there remains uncertainty about the timing of when those numbers might be revised upwards, and exactly how they would be changed in the future.”
The IMO is targeting at least 20% emissions cuts in 2030 and 70% ten years after that, on a path toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050.
Smith said a 1.5C-aligned goal would involve 37% cuts at the end of this decade and 96% in 2040.
But he said the 70% cuts by 2040 still give shipping a clear target, and it still requires a “radical shift in technology” and fuel supply that will be needed in a rapid period of time.
Listen to the episode in the player above, or on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pandora, Spotify or Soundcloud.
More on the IMO’s greenhouse gas decision
- Scandinavian shipping groups cheer IMO’s net zero ‘at or around’ 2050 agreement
- Shipowners will do ‘everything possible’ to achieve new IMO goals
- IMO lines up carbon pricing mechanism commitment by 2025
- IMO forges ‘wish and a prayer’ carbon deal as greens bemoan checkpoint targets
- From well to wake: How fuels’ lifecycle emissions are key to IMO greenhouse gas debate
