The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of shipping are a consequence of the carbon intensity of shipping’s energy supply, the energy efficiency of shipping, and the demand for shipping.The Paris Agreement confirmed that it was not a question of whether climate change should be addressed but a question of how, and it was clear that everyone will have to contribute.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO), as the organisation responsible for the international regulation of shipping, agreed at the 69th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) to establish a working group to discuss the matter further at MEPC 70 from 24– 28 October 2016. There are a number of submissions to MEPC 70 on this subject and we expect important discussions to take place on how this issue is to be progressed.
Arising from this backdrop are many debates, both in the policy forums and within the industry, as companies – sometimes individually, sometimes collectively – try to consider what their strategy might be for handling the simultaneously inevitable and uncertain changes ahead.
This report aims to contribute towards these discussions by providing information on the potential pathways to the decarbonisation of the global shipping industry, an objective that was recognised in previous submissions to MEPC related to the reduction of the GHG emissions from shipping. This topic has subsequently arisen in discussions with shipping companies – both collectively, through industry forums and initiatives, and individually, via commercial operating companies.
The author of this whitepaper is Lloyd’s Register
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