With international negotiations on decarbonising the maritime sector once again concluding without agreement, Transport & Environment (T&E) has warned that the continued impasse threatens the sector’s progress towards its 2050 net zero goal.
The latest International Maritime Organization (IMO) negotiations ended without a deal following continued opposition from the United States and Saudi Arabia, T&E noted, adding that action on maritime decarbonisation is ‘far too slow’.
‘Pragmatic negotiators’
‘While pragmatic negotiators, including the EU, signalled openness to compromise measures such as avoiding a centralised fund and weakening greenhouse gas targets, US and Saudi negotiators largely held their ground,’ T&E commented.
‘The continued failure to find an ambitious common ground not only puts shipping off course to decarbonise, but locks fossil fuel importing states and the shipping industry into continued dependency.’
T&E urged negotiators ‘not to cave’ to the Trump administration’s efforts to scupper decarbonisation targets, noting that continued dependence on oil costs the maritime industry roughly $340 million a day during the prolonged Hormuz crisis.
It also warned against measures it says could favour fossil gas and crop-based biofuels at the expense of longer-term emissions reductions, adding that diplomatic efforts need to be stepped up to address opposition from the US and its allies, while maintaining climate targets.
‘Deeply disappointing’
“After a summer of heatwaves, droughts and record sea temperatures, the failure of states to get close to a credible deal is deeply disappointing,” commented Alex Springer, interim shipping director at T&E. “It leaves global shipping increasingly adrift of where it needs to be. Governments should push forward with ambitious regional measures and must not wait for a global agreement before taking action.”
The next major IMO meeting takes place from 30 November to 3 December. Read more here.
Read more: Decarbonising the shipping industry will require coordinated action, says EY-Parthenon
