pressure on the IMO.
41 In 1997 the IMO followed up on the Kyoto Protocol’s
expectation with respect to bunker fuel and by MEPC 42 in 1998 it commenced
cooperation with the UNFCCC secretariat and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific
and Technological Advice (SBSTA), one of the subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC.
In 2000, the first IMO study on GHG emissions from shipping was produced
42 and
at MEPC 47 there was a decision to commence work to develop a GHG strategy with
a focus on CO 2 .
43 An Assembly resolution adopted in 2003 urged the MEPC to
continue work on the issue.
44 Over the next several sessions the MEPC laboured
hard on the issue in plenary and working groups, exploring ideas for the overall
approach, principles to guide discussions and potential range of technical, operational and other measures.
45 In particular, there was frequent sharp division on
whether shipping’s contribution to mitigation should be guided by the principle of
no discrimination and no more favourable treatment (ND-NMFT) generally guiding
the development of international maritime conventions and their enforcement
through port state control, or the principle at the heart of the UNFCCC, Kyoto and
Paris Agreement, namely common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), and to
which later were added according to ‘respective capabilities (RC)’ and ‘national
circumstances (NC)’. The way forward would eventually be clarified in part by the
combined CBDR-RCNC principle in the Paris Agreement and the adoption at
MEPC 70 of the Roadmap for Developing a Comprehensive IMO Strategy on
Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships which has served to guide the organization
on its deliverables and continues to do so as work on the GHG strategy proceeds.
46
Despite the difficulty of the issue, several important outputs were produced.
MARPOL Annex VI was amended to introduce Chapter 4 with provisions on the
Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), on a majority decision rather than the customary consensus.
The expectation is that all new ships will be 30% more energy efficient by 2025 than
those built in 2014. MARPOL was further amended to introduce a mandatory ship
41 For example: Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, 1979, amended by
Protocols to address emissions of sulphur (1985), nitrogen oxides (1988), volatile organic compounds (1991), and further reducing sulphur emissions (1994); Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1987, amended by the Protocol of 1990 phasing out of halons and
ozone-depleting CFCs 2000, and by the Protocol of 1992 accelerating phase-outs and adding phaseout dates for HCFCs and methyl bromide.
42 Report on the Outcome of the IMO Study on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, Submitted
by the Secretariat, IMO Doc MEPC 45/8 (29 June 2000).
43 Report of the MEPC at its 46th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 46/23 (16 May 2001), at 52–53.
44 IMO Policies and Practices related to the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships,
first adopted by MEPC, Report of the MEPC on its 49th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 49/22/Add.1
(13 August 2003), Annex 7, and by IMO Assembly Resolution A.963(23) adopted
5 December 2003.
45 Chircop et al. (2018), pp. 36–47.
46 Report of the MEPC on its 70th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 70/18 (11 November 2016), pp. 50–51;
Report of the MEPC on its 70th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 70/18/Add.1 (11 November 2016),
annex 11.
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41 In 1997 the IMO followed up on the Kyoto Protocol’s
expectation with respect to bunker fuel and by MEPC 42 in 1998 it commenced
cooperation with the UNFCCC secretariat and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific
and Technological Advice (SBSTA), one of the subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC.
In 2000, the first IMO study on GHG emissions from shipping was produced
42 and
at MEPC 47 there was a decision to commence work to develop a GHG strategy with
a focus on CO 2 .
43 An Assembly resolution adopted in 2003 urged the MEPC to
continue work on the issue.
44 Over the next several sessions the MEPC laboured
hard on the issue in plenary and working groups, exploring ideas for the overall
approach, principles to guide discussions and potential range of technical, operational and other measures.
45 In particular, there was frequent sharp division on
whether shipping’s contribution to mitigation should be guided by the principle of
no discrimination and no more favourable treatment (ND-NMFT) generally guiding
the development of international maritime conventions and their enforcement
through port state control, or the principle at the heart of the UNFCCC, Kyoto and
Paris Agreement, namely common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), and to
which later were added according to ‘respective capabilities (RC)’ and ‘national
circumstances (NC)’. The way forward would eventually be clarified in part by the
combined CBDR-RCNC principle in the Paris Agreement and the adoption at
MEPC 70 of the Roadmap for Developing a Comprehensive IMO Strategy on
Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships which has served to guide the organization
on its deliverables and continues to do so as work on the GHG strategy proceeds.
46
Despite the difficulty of the issue, several important outputs were produced.
MARPOL Annex VI was amended to introduce Chapter 4 with provisions on the
Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), on a majority decision rather than the customary consensus.
The expectation is that all new ships will be 30% more energy efficient by 2025 than
those built in 2014. MARPOL was further amended to introduce a mandatory ship
41 For example: Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, 1979, amended by
Protocols to address emissions of sulphur (1985), nitrogen oxides (1988), volatile organic compounds (1991), and further reducing sulphur emissions (1994); Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1987, amended by the Protocol of 1990 phasing out of halons and
ozone-depleting CFCs 2000, and by the Protocol of 1992 accelerating phase-outs and adding phaseout dates for HCFCs and methyl bromide.
42 Report on the Outcome of the IMO Study on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, Submitted
by the Secretariat, IMO Doc MEPC 45/8 (29 June 2000).
43 Report of the MEPC at its 46th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 46/23 (16 May 2001), at 52–53.
44 IMO Policies and Practices related to the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships,
first adopted by MEPC, Report of the MEPC on its 49th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 49/22/Add.1
(13 August 2003), Annex 7, and by IMO Assembly Resolution A.963(23) adopted
5 December 2003.
45 Chircop et al. (2018), pp. 36–47.
46 Report of the MEPC on its 70th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 70/18 (11 November 2016), pp. 50–51;
Report of the MEPC on its 70th Session, IMO Doc MEPC 70/18/Add.1 (11 November 2016),
annex 11.
106
A. Chircop and D. Shan