November 26, 2020

ESPO Says Higher Ambitions are Needed for Reducing GHG Emissions from Shipping

On 17 November, the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC75) gave preliminary approval to the compromise agreement for the package of technical and operational measures to address greenhouse gas emissions from ships in the short run.

The agreed package combines the introduction of:

  • EEXI, Energy Efficiency Existing Ships Index
  • CII, Carbon Intensity Indicators operational measure
  • Carbon Intensity rating mechanism
  • the strengthening of the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) framework.

ESPO, the European Sea Ports Organisation, sees the agreement as a first step.

ESPO however believes that the 2018 IMO CO2 target is possibly not ambitious enough in light of the European Green Deal objective of no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050, and the higher EU targets for 2030.