Canadian marine shipping endorses international CO2 reduction targets

Earlier today, the Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) endorsed proposed international targets to reduce marine shipping’s carbon emissions per tonne-kilometre by 50% by 2050 to achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

In June, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) agreed to urge the U.N. agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to adopt the following reduction objectives on behalf of the international shipping sector as a whole.

• To maintain international shipping’s annual total CO2 emissions below 2008 levels
• To reduce CO2 emissions per t-km as an average across international shipping by at least 50% by 2050, compared to 2008 levels
• To reduce, by 2020, international shipping’s total annual CO2 emissions by an agreed percentage, as compared to 2008 levels, as a point on a continuing trajectory of CO2 emissions reduction.

According to CMC President Bruce Burrows, Canadian ship owners have been trailblazers in tackling greenhouse gases through environmental improvement programs such as Green Marine, and by adopting new technologies: “Canadian ship owners have spent more than $2 billion during the past few years on new vessels and advanced technologies that significantly reduce fuel consumption and corresponding carbon emissions,” he said. “The level of investment and innovation is unprecedented. There are already 18 new and revamped Canadian-flag ships sailing these waters and a further 14 arriving over the next two years.”