A group of maritime related companies are sending representatives to Bonn, Germany to hold a conference during the next UNFCCC environment meeting, called COP23.
The businesses, including Lloyd’s Register, MAN Diesel, Rightship, Danish Shipping, International Windship Association and Green Ship of the Future, want to create stronger policy to decarbonise the industry.
They hope to raise awareness of the unwritten role of shipping in meeting the targets under the Paris Agreement and the need to push the industry to be ambitious in its goals.
Shipping was omitted from the Paris Agreement which focused on UN member states offering their commitments to reducing CO2 emissions as part of a global attempt to keep global warming to within 2 degrees. The expectation is that the IMO will be the UN body to deal with shipping. However expert papers claim to show that the national commitments from the UN states under the Paris Agreements will fail to keep CO2 emissions under a given cap needed to keep temperatures within the given limits.
There is also the pressure on shipping to increase its level of effort and effectively decarbonise, which means doing more than energy efficiency cuts, but effectively looking a lot harder at using new, carbon-free, energy sources for propulsion.
The organisers of the Bonn summit say the event, called ‘Ambition 1.5oC: Global Shipping’s Action Plan’ will gather 150-200 industry representatives and UNFCCC delegates to take action and create an action plan for the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.
The group will use the reviewed and accelerated ‘pathway’ developed by the Sustainable Shipping Initiative as a framework for its proposed action plan.
The event has the endorsement of UNFCCC partners; the incoming Fijian Presidency of COP23, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and the City of Bonn and is an official Climate Partner for COP23.
The organisers say that following the summit, a briefing document will be delivered to UNFCCC secretariat and delegates in a bid to influence discussions around shipping transportation.
Information about the summit can be found at: www.shippingambition1o5C.com
Fathom-News.com
