Governance of International Shipping
in the Era of Decarbonisation: New
Challenges for the IMO?
Aldo Chircop and Desai Shan
Abstract In this chapter we discuss the challenge that the regulation of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions poses to the mandate and structure of the International
Maritime Organization (IMO). The discussion is undertaken against the backdrop
of the evolution of the organization since it was established. We consider the
implications of the IMO Initial GHG strategy adopted in 2018 in paving the path
to the international shipping’s contribution to mitigation in response to the Paris
Agreement, 2015. The long-term decarbonization of shipping constitutes one of the
greatest challenges the IMO has faced since it first embraced the environmental
mandate in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We argue that the IMO may have to
consider structural and functional change to meet the demands of the strategy and in
particular with respect to a possible market-based measure.
1 Introduction
When he published his classic ground-breaking work on the changing structure of
international law in 1964, the eminent Professor Wolfgang Friedmann observed the
emergence of a new international law of cooperation, best evidenced by the role
played by international organizations in facilitating the conduct of international
relations at the global and regional levels.
1 Today the law of international cooperation is well established and covers a vast realm of subject-matter, serviced in large
degree by international organizations. This is especially true in the fields of international law of concern in this essay, namely those relating to ocean governance,
maritime trade and the environment. The special role played by international
A. Chircop (*) · D. Shan
Marine and Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University,
Halifax, NS, Canada
Ocean Frontier Institute, Halifax, NS, Canada
e-mail: aldo.chircop@dal.ca
1 Friedmann (1964), pp. 60–61.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. K. Mukherjee et al. (eds.), Maritime Law in Motion, WMU Studies in Maritime
Affairs 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31749-2_6
97
in the Era of Decarbonisation: New
Challenges for the IMO?
Aldo Chircop and Desai Shan
Abstract In this chapter we discuss the challenge that the regulation of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions poses to the mandate and structure of the International
Maritime Organization (IMO). The discussion is undertaken against the backdrop
of the evolution of the organization since it was established. We consider the
implications of the IMO Initial GHG strategy adopted in 2018 in paving the path
to the international shipping’s contribution to mitigation in response to the Paris
Agreement, 2015. The long-term decarbonization of shipping constitutes one of the
greatest challenges the IMO has faced since it first embraced the environmental
mandate in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We argue that the IMO may have to
consider structural and functional change to meet the demands of the strategy and in
particular with respect to a possible market-based measure.
1 Introduction
When he published his classic ground-breaking work on the changing structure of
international law in 1964, the eminent Professor Wolfgang Friedmann observed the
emergence of a new international law of cooperation, best evidenced by the role
played by international organizations in facilitating the conduct of international
relations at the global and regional levels.
1 Today the law of international cooperation is well established and covers a vast realm of subject-matter, serviced in large
degree by international organizations. This is especially true in the fields of international law of concern in this essay, namely those relating to ocean governance,
maritime trade and the environment. The special role played by international
A. Chircop (*) · D. Shan
Marine and Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University,
Halifax, NS, Canada
Ocean Frontier Institute, Halifax, NS, Canada
e-mail: aldo.chircop@dal.ca
1 Friedmann (1964), pp. 60–61.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. K. Mukherjee et al. (eds.), Maritime Law in Motion, WMU Studies in Maritime
Affairs 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31749-2_6
97