ICS seeks net zero emission standard

THE International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has submitted detailed proposals to the United Nations body, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and member nations, on negotiations supporting the development of a Global Fuel Standard as a technical measure to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of marine fuels, targeting 5 percent by 2030.

ICS said that with an aggressive tightening of this standard after 2030 developed with industry experts, the standard will work in practice.

“A fuel standard will not succeed on its own. It has to be supported by a radical economic measure, which will operate across the world to incentivize the production and uptake of the low and zero GHG fuels necessary to accelerate the transition to a net zero destination,” Simon Bennett, ICS deputy secretary general, said.

He added, “Shipping remains the most carbon-efficient way to transport the goods that we all use, with about 90 percent of world trade carried by sea. However, being efficient does not mean we must not work to address the 3 percent shipping contributes to global carbon emissions. We all have a role to play in decarbonization.”

ICS and its members are optimistic that governments will set a net zero target to send a signal to energy producers and marine fuel suppliers, charting the direction of travel.

ICS said that the decisions that governments will make will be critical.Bennett said that shipowners are willing to contribute to a multibillion dollar global fund, which if structured correctly, will reduce the cost gap between conventional fuel oil and the much more expensive zero GHG fuels as they begin to become available.

The ICS “Fund and Reward” mechanism, he said, is an equitable measure that will also ensure developing countries can use some of the billions of dollars that would be generated each year, from shipowner contributions, to create the infrastructure of the future while incentivizing first movers to act.

Bennett said a growing number of governments recognize the merit of these industry proposals, but ICS needs to ensure that developing nations can recognize the opportunity that this IMO fund will unlock.

“To produce the very large amounts of low and zero GHG fuels, such as methanol, ammonia and hydrogen, sustainable biofuels and synthetic fuels [as well as developing new technologies such as carbon capture] is going to take real-world regulation and meaningful incentives, not just the adoption of a new GHG reduction target,” Bennett said.

ICS is the principal international trade association for merchant shipowners and operators, representing all sectors and trades and over 80 percent of the world’s merchant fleet.