Shipping emissions 17% of global CO2
Shipping could be responsible for 17% of global CO2 emissions in 2050 if left unregulated, according to a new scientific study conducted by European Parliament Directorate General for Internal Policies.
Any agreement at the Paris Climate Summit must therefore send a clear signal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that CO2 reduction targets and measures for shipping are needed to help keep warming below dangerous levels, according to NGOs Seas At Risk, Transport & Environment (T&E) and the Marine Conservation Society.
Emissions from shipping, along with aviation, are the elephant in the COP21 negotiations room, the groups said in a dossier presented to delegates arriving for the IMO’s 2015 Assembly in London.
Almost 40% of all CO2 emissions in 2050 will be caused by shipping and aviation if left unregulated, the study published by the European Parliament found.
However the IMO, the UN body tasked with tackling the climate impacts of shipping, has so far failed to grasp the nettle on shipping’s growing contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while the proposal for emissions cuts from industry – as represented by the International Chamber of Shipping - would fall short of what shipping needs to do to help meet the 2°C warming target limit by some 121%.
The European Parliament’s study took into account the IMO’s own research which found that shipping GHG emissions are up 70% since 1990 and are projected to grow by up to a further 250% by 2050