COP26 PREVIEW
ICS TURNS THE TABLES ON COP26 The shipping industry might have been on the defensive at COP26 due to calls for it to take more action on decarbonisation, but the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has turned the tables with a proposal and an ultimatum
8 Jürgen Rechberger, Vice President and Business Field Leader – Hydrogen and Fuel Cells at Austrian technology provider AVL expects hydrogen to become an internationally trade commodity"
Instead of supporting the IMO’s existing goal of 50% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050, the ICS (which represents 80% of the global shipping industry) has called for shipping to be net zero by 2050. It has backed this call with a plan for governments to introduce a mandatory carbon levy on CO2 emitted by globally trading ships over 5,000 gross tonnes. The money would go into an IMO Climate Fund used to close the price gap between zerocarbon and conventional fuels and to deploy the bunkering infrastructure required in ports throughout the world to supply fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. Funds would be gathered through the same mechanism as the US$5 billion R&D Fund discussed without conclusion at the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting (MEPC76) in June. This fund would be financed through a mandatory $2 levy per tonne on marine fuel and be used to accelerate the development of zero-emission technology in pilot projects that could be scaled up across the industry. The ICS is pushing for decisive action at MEPC77 this November, two weeks after COP26. Guy Platten, Secretary General of the ICS, challenges the governments of the world: “At COP, we will be saying: back us, or explain why you are blocking the energy transition to zero emission fuels.” Although the ICS and joint-proposer INTERCARGO didn’t put a dollar amount on the Climate Fund levy when they announced it in October, the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands have previously proposed a $100 levy. The IMO’s 174 Member States have been discussing potential marketbased measures in depth since MEPC56 in 2006. Agreement is yet to be reached, largely due to differences of opinion between developed and developing nations on how to balance equality with common but differentiated
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responsibility for causing the world’s GHG problem. China, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and India, for example, have all at times opposed climate-related measures considered by the IMO. The ICS has acknowledged the challenge by noting that the Climate Fund’s work could initially target developing nations. Falling short Dealing with common but differentiated responsibility has been a problem at COP meetings. The pledge to mobilize US$100 billion annually by 2020 for climate action by developing countries was taken in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process in 2010, but it has not yet been fulfilled. Developed nations are falling some US$20 billion short each year. 8 Guy Platten, Secretary General of the ICS wants governments to introduce a mandatory carbon levy on CO2 emitted by globally trading ships over 5,000 gross tonnes
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