UN greenwashes shipping with hopelessly weak carbon efficiency target

Faig Abbasov, shipping programme director at T&E, said: “The maritime regulator is greenwashing shipping with a hopelessly weak ship efficiency target. The proposal shows total disregard for climate science and is nothing more than a cosmetic measure. Meanwhile, the IMO is meddling in the democratic affairs of the EU by trying to curb its plans to cut ship pollution. This is unacceptable.”

At the meeting the IMO secretariat again expressed disapproval of potential national and regional regulatory measures to address shipping’s growing climate impact where it has failed. The EU is preparing to include shipping in its emissions trading system when it revises the bloc’s carbon market on 14 July. The EU will also propose to require ships to progressively switch to alternative sustainable fuels.

Shipping accounts for about 13% of greenhouse gas emissions from European transport.

Note to editors:

[1] The ICCT, Choose wisely: IMO’s carbon intensity target could be the difference between rising or falling shipping emissions this decade, 2021.

https://theicct.org/blog/staff/imo-carbon-intensity-target-may2021