The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted tougher greenhouse gas emission targets for the global shipping industry on Friday. The IMO is a United Nations agency responsible for creating a regulatory framework for the global shipping industry.
The member states have agreed to tougher standards. The new pledge is squishy. It targets a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net-zero “by or about 2050.” Previously, member states had agreed to reduce its emissions by half by 2050. The interim goals include cutting greenhouse gas emissions “by at least 20 percent, striving for 30 percent, by 2030” and “by at least 70 percent, striving for 80 percent, by 2040.”
The United States and other leading industrial nations sought even tougher standards. The Ocean Conservancy and the Clean Shipping Coalition criticized the agreement as not going far enough. But a bigger issue than whether the new targets are enough to sufficiently help slow global warming is the enforcement of these new targets.
The enforcement of IMO conventions depends upon the member nations enforcing the provisions of IMO conventions for vessels that carry their flags. Each merchant ship is required by international law to be registered in a registry created by a country, and a ship is subject to the laws of that country. The nations with the most flagged vehicles are Panama, China, Singapore, the Marshall Islands, and Liberia. A key question for hitting these targets is whether nations like Panama, the Marshall Islands – and other leading shipping nations including Liberia, Malta, Greece and the Bahamas – will actively monitor, encourage and penalize companies not on track to meet the new standards. Further, even if member states have the will to enforce treaty obligations, the unauthorized flag use is a growing problem. This is a practice where a ship uses a state’s flag without its knowledge.
Other technological hurdles remain. Just because a pilot program using a new technology or fuel shows promise does not mean that technology can be produced at scale. Embracing green hydrogen, for example, not only requires a vast buildout of plants, but it also requires ports to develop a new storage and piping infrastructure.
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