PROPOSAL TO DECARBONISE SHIPPING

Subject: International Agreements

Context: Governments across the globe have agreed to give further consideration to the concept of an International Maritime Organisation (IMO)-supervised, industry financed, $5-billion fund, to be governed by an autonomous board.

Concept:

• The proposal , backed by eight of the global shipping industry’s top associations seeks to impose a mandatory levy of $2 per tonne of fuel consumed by ships to fund R&D projects by raising an estimated $500 million annually and $5 billion over 10 years.
• It could be used to to accelerate the introduction of zero-emission technologies for maritime transport.
• The fund would be administered by an autonomous organisation, to be called the International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB).
• India has not opposed the proposal but raised concerns on several areas which need detailed deliberations.
• The IMO’s greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy, adopted in 2018, sets ambitious targets to halve GHG emissions from ships by 2050, compared to 2008, and reduce carbon intensity of international shipping by 40 per cent by 2030.
• The IMO 2050 climate targets can only be achieved with the immediate acceleration of zero-carbon fuels and technologies.

International Maritime Organization

• The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
• It is a global standard-setting authority with responsibility to improve the safety and security of international shipping and prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.
• The IMO is not responsible for enforcing its policies. There is no enforcement mechanism to implement the policies of the IMO.
• Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.
• It is also involved in legal matters, including liability and compensation issues and the facilitation of international maritime traffic.