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October 6, 2009
World Shipping Council White Paper Describes Step
Liner Shipping Industry Taking on Carbon Emissions
The World Shipping Council (WSC) has released a white paper describing steps the liner shipping industry has taken to respond to concerns about the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on climate change.
Dated September 2009, the 19-page paper defines the liner shipping industry, its efforts working with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on tackling the carbon emissions issues and the challenges both organizations face.
Titled “The Liner Shipping Industry and Carbon Emissions Policy,” the document is divided into three sections:
- Part I describes the liner shipping industry’s role in maritime shipping.
- Part II answers common questions about the generation of CO2 emissions by ships.
- Part III describes process of creating new ship emission regulations, the current status of those international discussions, and the main issues making these negotiations challenging.
The WSC sees difficulties in developing an effective international regulatory regime to reduce carbon emissions from shipping because of the complicated political and technical questions and the limited precedent to build upon.
According to Christopher L. Koch, the WSC President and CEO, WSC commits itself to develop a “sound carbon emissions regulatory regime for shipping.” WSC stated it will help forge agreement of an effective global regime addressing CO2 emissions from ships.
The WSC estimates that maritime shipping produces an estimated 2.7 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions, while that shipping provides an essential service to the world’s economies and consumers.
Read the entire policy