University College London’s (UCL) Energy Institute recently hosted a seminar entitled “International Shipping Greenhouse Gas (GHG) policy post-Paris Agreement”.
The seminar welcomed David Balston, Director of Policy and Director Safety & Environment at the UK Chamber of Shipping and Dr. Tristan Smith, Lecturer at UCL Energy Institute to the podium to present their expert views.
In this two-part feature, Ship Efficiency Review presents the discussion points for both speakers. Part One will present David Balston’s expert views and Part Two will present Tristan Smith’s expert insight into studies conducted by the UCL Energy institute and industry studies that he leads. Both parts will be published separately.
The “International Shipping Greenhouse Gas (GHG) policy post-Paris Agreement seminar” commenced with Mr Balston speaking against an engaging series of images that represented the evolving changes in the industry and policy over the past decade.
He cast delegates’ minds back to the pre-recession “halcyon days”, depicted by a leafy green forest image. It was during this time that many regulations were drawn up for adoption, however at this time eyes were off regulation as the industry believed it was all ok as they could pay to ensure compliance. Back then shipping was able to afford it, but now? Not so much, said Balston.
Next came a thunder and lightning image depicting stormy times for the commercial shipping industry and offshore sector. Balston did highlight the fact that the cruise sector and some parts of the tanker trade are doing well, but for most it is doom and gloom. Therefore, eyes are firmly back on the regulatory cursor for now and the foreseeable future.
The next image that Balston loaded onto the screen was of a collection of industrial chimney stacks, all throwing up plumes of emissions. This image depicted the mass volumes of emission from land-based sources. This image was used by Balston to highlight the fact that shipping is the most environmentally friendly form of freight transport, voicing that we need to ensure that we do not push shipping so hard that it migrates into alternative means of transport, such as aviation or road. Focus on the bigger picture is essential, he stated.
Balston next addressed any pessimism surrounding the COP21 climate change negotiations, delivering facts about the Paris Agreement and the timeline of action to delegates and stating that political pressure is increasing post-Paris Agreement. He voiced that it wasn’t surprising that shipping was left out of the Paris Agreement, stating frankly that it was avoided but he is of the opinion that the industry hasn’t simply “got away with it”. He also touched upon the submission and appraisal of intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) by global governments and the impact of these INDCs being reached on the 2 degrees Celsius target. According to those INDCs submitted, 2.7 degrees Celsius could be achieved. Upon delivering this figure, Balston asked delegates is that reason to be pessimistic?
He also drew reference to the fact that the aviation industry has taken a great step forward to achieving a 2050 emissions reduction target and this is pushing the industry to make a similar move. He posed the question to delegates, should the shipping industry align themselves with the European 2040 target, or aviation’s 2050 target?
Balston talked about options for the shipping industry and market based measures, touching on levies and speaking extensively on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and its potential impact on the industry. He questioned whether the Paris Agreement will make an EU ETS more or less likely for the industry. This expert believes that unless IMO does something quickly, the EU ETS is going to become more likely. He, and the UK Chamber of Shipping, believe that the EU ETS is seriously bad news for the industry as it is a regional measure being applied to an international industry.
Following the International Chamber of Shipping’s (ICS) proposed alignment with the Paris Agreement, Mr Balston stated that a global study is required to work out what exactly ‘fair share’ of shipping’s contributions to reducing GHG emissions should be. In any terms, the UK Chamber of Shipping believe there should be a 0% carbon growth target from herein.
Expert Duo Address Shipping GHG Policy Movements at Recent Seminar – Part Two will be published on shipefficiencyreview.com
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