Countdown to MEPC 81: Canada urges for ‘stringent’ mid-term measures with GHG pricing

Canada has urged the IMO to enforce stringent mid-term measures, including greenhouse gas (GHG) pricing and a GHG intensity fuel standard, to ensure that the maritime sector remains within a defined carbon budget and aligns with the Paris Agreement.

PHOTO: A Canadian flag. Getty Images

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) should administer measures to deal with “certain caveats” that come with the alignment of its strategy at the Paris Agreement to limit the shipping sector’s temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, Canada proposed in its submission to the IMO ahead of the 81st Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 81) meeting next month.

To remain within the GHG budget, Canada said it will be imperative to:

• Reduce maritime emissions more than the upper end of the 2040 indicative checkpoint (70–80% GHG reduction compared to 2008).
• Maintain the emissions reduction pathway in the non-checkpoint years, i.e., between 2031 and 2039.
• Urgently develop and implement mid-term measures, in particular, a GHG pricing scheme and a GHG fuel intensity standard (GFS) that are stringent enough to deliver on the emissions reduction targets.
• Incentivise investments in zero- and near-zero GHG energy systems.
• Develop voluntary collaborative projects like green shipping corridors, etc.
• Bring reforms to charter parties that will allow the industry to transition away from fossil-based marine fuels.

During the MEPC 80 meeting last year, the IMO revealed plans to establish mid-term measures set to take effect as early as 2027. These measures will encompass both technical and economic components. The technical element is expected to introduce a GHG fuel standard targeting a reduction in permissible well-to-wake emissions from marine fuels. On the other hand, the economic elements may involve strategies like a GHG levy and a cap-and-trade scheme.

A global GHG pricing mechanism for the shipping sector will allow shipowners and other stakeholders to invest in zero-emission marine fuels with less risk and provide support to developing countries, Canada noted in its submission to the IMO.

“Under the business-as-usual scenario, where no more stringent measures are taken and business-as-usual decarbonization pathways are followed, the international shipping sector will exceed its 1.5°C GHG budget within the next decade,” Canada argued in its submission.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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