CAN Europe sent this letter to Commissioner Hedegaard on regulating maritime emissions
Despite being a substantial and growing source of emissions, shipping is the only sector the EU has not yet included in its efforts to decarbonise the economy. CAN Europe and a number of other non-governmental organizations have written to the Commission urging them to act on this issue.
The letter calls on the Commission to make 2012 the year in which emissions from shipping and other forms of maritime transport are addressed in Europe. Adding to this, the EU is urged to do so in a way that contributes towards the development of a fair and ambitious eventual global scheme within the International Maritime Organization and helps build momentum in the international climate change discussions under the UNFCCC towards a fair and ambitious legally binding agreement by 2015.
The letter highlights several important issues, amongst them:
- The need to ensure there is a polluters pay principle through strict emissions reduction targets and a market-based mechanism to reduce emissions inline with the EU’s wider transport targets by 40% if not 50% by 2050.
- Any agreement needs to be comprehensive and should cover all ships entering and leaving the EU, incentivisng genuine emissions reductions within the maritime sector while limiting access to offsets.
- Revenues raised should be used to further climate action, and also ensure that the impact of any proposal on developing countries, particularly the poorest and Least Developed Countries is considered through appropriate measures.
