.
Global port authorities, represented through the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), welcome the initial strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships that was adopted at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) earlier today. Key element of the strategy is the ambition to peak GHG emissions from international shipping as soon as possible and to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 whilst pursuing efforts phasing them out as a point on a pathway of CO2 emissions reduction consistent with the temperature goals that were agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015.
“Whilst thriving on shipping business, many ports are vulnerable to climate change and invest heavily in making their infrastructure resilient for the future. That is why IAPH initially supported the proposal of Marshall Islands, other Pacific island states and European countries to aim for a total reduction of 70 to 100% by 2050”, commented IAPH Managing Director Policy and Strategy Patrick Verhoeven, who attended the IMO deliberations this week. “The agreement that was reached today is however a compromise that we can support, as it sends out a powerful signal to the world that the shipping industry is fully on board in the fight against global warming.”
“We see the agreement primarily as an important first step”, continued Patrick Verhoeven, “We look forward to cooperating with our colleagues in the shipping industry, NGOs and governments in the implementation work that now lies ahead until the finalisation of the IMO strategy in 2023.”
The initial strategy contains a catalogue of candidate short, medium and long-term measures that are needed to achieve the level of ambition that was agreed today. Ports are mentioned among the stakeholders that can facilitate the shipping industry in reducing their GHG emissions. Possible measures include provision of ship and onshore power supply from renewable sources, infrastructure to support supply of alternative low and zero-carbon fuels and optimisation of logistics chain planning. “These topics are high on the agenda of the World Ports Sustainability Program that we launched a couple of weeks ago and we are confident that this will allow us to contribute in very concrete terms to the upcoming debate”, concluded Patrick Verhoeven.
More information about the World Ports Sustainability Program: www.sustainableworldports.org
