Greenhouse Gas Emissions

IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is discussing greenhouse gas emissions from international maritime transport.

The International Chamber of Shipping has been working on criteria for assessing market-based instruments (MBIs) for some time. This document presents some of the criteria that should be used in the analysis of MBIs and proposes some building blocks for a system that appears to meet the various requirements of the different industry sectors.

ICS states that they promote the following criteria for the debate on MBIs:

1. that any solution should result in a real reduction of the global CO2 inventory;
2. that any solution considered for shipping must accommodate and reflect the global nature of the shipping industry and its direct relationship with world trade; and
3. that the position of shipping as the most efficient transport mode must be enhanced.

Considering the active discussions at IMO level and considering that the US EPA is legally required to address CO2 emissions, it seems that Canadian shipping will, sooner or later, be affected by the outcome of the CO2 debate. It seems to me that the Canadian shipping industry might want to engage in this debate to avoid surprises down the road.