A global solution, for a global problem
Parliamentary briefing
As parliamentarians debate the draft Climate Change Bill, the question of whether international shipping should be included is often raised. Shipping will be included in the Bill, but only after an international agreement has been achieved.
Efthimios Mitropoulos, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (the UN body that regulates shipping) has emphasised the IMO’s commitment to reducing shipping’s carbon emissions. He will go to the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen next year with the objective of incorporating the industry in any post-Kyoto agreement.
British shipping fully supports the IMO’s commitment to achieve a global carbon emissions reduction and is actively investigating all options, including economic and “market-based” instruments such as emissions trading.
It is important to note that the UK Bill is not unique in temporarily excluding shipping. Both the Kyoto protocol and the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme did so for the same reason. It is virtually impossible to legislate for such a mobile and international industry – except at a global level. For any country or region to impose unilateral legislation on a global marketplace is to deliberately inflict additional costs only on its own industry.
The Chamber supports the aims and objectives of the Climate Change Bill. However, the inclusion of shipping ahead of any international agreement would be detrimental to the British shipping industry and UK trade – and for no environmental benefit.
Shipping contributes over £5 billion directly to the UK’s GDP (£11 billion indirectly) and supports some 185,000 UK jobs. Ships transport 92 per cent, by volume, of all UK imports and exports. Every year 583 million tonnes of cargo and over 4.88 million containers pass through our ports.
It is clear, therefore, that shipping is a vital national industry, both as a business sector and as the carrier of cargoes to the UK. Every effort needs to be made to ensure that shipping maintains its ability to deliver, competitively, the goods and services on which we all depend.
There are two difficulties associated with bringing shipping into the Bill: firstly, for what proportion of global shipping should the UK hold itself responsible – that of its own shipping sector or that associated with transporting trade to and from the UK by sea? Secondly, what enforcement mechanisms exist to implement any national legislation that cannot be easily and legitimately avoided by operators?
These questions have not yet been adequately addressed – and the industry is doing all it can to provide answers at the international level. To date, the Government has understood the dynamics and complexities of this global environmental challenge. The Chamber of Shipping believes it would be irresponsible to bring shipping within the Bill unless it is certain that doing so would not distort the unbiased arena on which shipping relies.
An international agreement that applies equally to all ships and of all flags will not only deliver the appropriate legislative vehicle for the global shipping industry, but the only practical framework that can deliver the necessary sustained and significant carbon reductions.
Shipping, the most carbon friendly of all modes, will be part of a global carbon solution and the industry is determined to ensure that the internationally established timetable is met and agreement reached in the coming year.
For further information please contact:
John Stevenson, Chamber of Shipping
020 7417 2833