London: The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), principal global trade association for shipowners, has launched a new informative website - www.shippingandco2.org .
The purpose of the site is to explain what the shipping industry and its regulator - UN body the International Maritime Organization (IMO) - are doing to deliver a significant reduction in shipping's CO2 emissions.
The launch of the site coincides with IMO World Maritime Day (24 September) - the theme of which is 'Climate Change - A Challenge for IMO Too'.
The ICS website explains that the consensus of opinion within the shipping industry is that it may be possible for ships to reduce CO2 emitted per tonne kilometre by perhaps 15%-20% by 2020, through a combination of technological and operational developments aimed at reducing fuel consumption. In the longer term, advances in alternative fuel technologies may deliver further improvements.
Shipping is already the most carbon efficient mode of commercial transport, about 30 times more efficient than air freight.However, the shipping industry fully accepts that the CO2 emissions reduction that ships must aim to achieve should be at least as ambitious as the emissions reduction agreed under any new United Nations Climate Change Convention, which will be discussed in Copenhagen, in December.
The website explains that shipping is an inherently international industry which depends on a global regulatory framework to operate efficiently, and that meaningful reductions in CO2 emissions will be best achieved if nations agree that the development of detailed measures for shipping should be directed by governments at IMO - but in line with the outcomes agreed for the sector under any new UN Climate Change Convention.
The website also contains information about the development of Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans, potential Market Based Instruments, and other resources relevant to shipping and CO2 emissions reduction. In addition, the site includes a video explaining the relationship between shipping and world trade, as well as links to general information about shipping and its environmental performance. [22/09/09]
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