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Carbon cutting – it’s in your hands

[ December 2, 2015   //   ]

With climate change talks getting underway in Paris, the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) has called on the shipping industry to reach agreement on carbon reduction measures – or risk having rules enforced.
The GSF has released a statement on how the maritime sector should address the issue. It is keen to avoid a patchwork approach of national CO2 targets which would be complex to manage and wants the shipping industry to agree voluntary measures, pointing out that the EU is already proceeding with its own Monitoring, Verification and Reporting system in absence of an agreement by the International Maritime Organisation.
Shippers are under increasing pressure to monitor and report their supply chain carbon footprint but they are dependent on the shipping industry to provide accurate data on emissions. GSF believes urgent action is now needed to agree targets.
Secretary-general Chris Welsh, said: “We believe the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) should retain responsibility for this issue given its strong track record, but more progress is needed on appropriate Market-Based Measures.”
He said it was crucial to select a measure that will incentivise technical and operational measures to reduce CO2 and not simply pass on additional costs to shippers. The Ship Efficiency Credit Trading (SECT) proposed by the US comes closest to meeting these principles, he added.

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