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The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), a coalition of companies from across the global shipping industry, has called on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) "to show its true intent to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping" at the upcoming Marine Environmental Protection Committee meeting (MEPC 69), which is scheduled to take place on April 18, 2016.

In a statement, entitled 'IMO must show action on GHG emissions at MEPC 69 - says Sustainable Shipping Initiative', the SSI says that an "ambitious but realistic plan" must be set for the shipping industry to contribute to reducing GHG emissions in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) target of less than 2 degrees warming agreed at the COP 21 meeting in Paris in December 2015.

To achieve this, the SSI points out that global GHG emissions to be at least 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, and that the maritime industry's current rate of emissions growth is "incompatible with this target".

"The newly appointed IMO Secretary General, Kitack Lim, has publicly said that contributing to the fight against climate change is a top priority for the IMO," said Alastair Fischbacher, CEO, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative.

"The IMO’s latest figures show that if left unchecked, GHG emissions from shipping will increase by up to 250 percent by 2050, representing 17 percent of global emissions. This is simply unacceptable, and it is critical that the IMO urgently sets out a robust and ambitious plan and framework that sees the industry take responsibility for reducing its emissions output. The time for business as usual is over, and the time for action is now; MEPC 69 is the platform to demonstrate this."

The agreed agenda for MEPC 69 will see debate around a number of areas in relation to GHG emissions, including the development of a global data collection scheme and an emissions reduction target, as well as market-based measures to achieve such a target. As a minimum, the SSI believes that MEPC 69 must agree a fast-tracked plan that will see the formal agreement and implementation of significant and early emissions reductions for shipping.

Fischbacher continued: "A number of member states and industry bodies have submitted papers for the development of a work plan that defines the industry’s fair share of efforts to reduce GHG emissions. This must be the minimum outcome from MEPC 69, which will set the foundation for shipping to contribute to the less than 2-degree warming target set at COP 21. It is critical that the IMO now drives this this forward. Right now the opportunity for change is in the industry’s hands, and inaction will increase calls for regulatory and legislative influence from outside shipping. And crucially, any further delays will only increase the scale of the GHG challenge that the industry faces."

The SSI recently launched its Roadmap, a set of key milestones and priorities, which must be met in order to create a sustainable shipping industry by 2040. Set across six core areas, one is the requirement to reduce GHG emissions by changing to a diverse range of energy sources as well using resources more efficiently, which can be achieved through a number of factors, including regulation, governance, infrastructure development, and emerging energy sources.

Fischbacher concluded: "Our Roadmap clearly shows that numerous and significant steps are required to reduce GHG emissions from shipping and that effective regulation is a key element of achieving this. It is vital that at MEPC 69 the IMO takes the actions called for to ensure that this industry is recognised as taking responsibility for the reduction of its local and global emissions."