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The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is calling on governments to support 'a crucial vote', next week, at the London-based UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), to help shipping deliver 'meaningful CO2 emissions reductions' on a global basis.

In a statement, the ICS said member national shipowners’ associations had been lobbying their governments hard to ensure that there was support for the adoption of global rules on technical and operational measures, which ICS believes will deliver at least a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020, per tonne-km of trade carried by sea.

“Every vote will count.” said ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe. “We appreciate that some developing countries - in our view mistakenly - are concerned that a positive IMO decision on technical measures, that will apply to all ships equally, regardless of flag, might somehow prejudice their positions at the high level UN Climate Change negotiations. But any failure to agree at IMO will make discussions on the reduction of shipping’s emissions far more difficult. As well as being bad for the environment, a ‘no’ vote will threaten the 'level playing field' in international shipping with the risk of very serious market distortions.”

A package of technical and operational measures has already been developed by governments, and is being put forward for adoption by the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (meeting from 11 -15 July) as amendments to Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention. The package also includes the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the use of Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP).

The ICS said: "Agreement at IMO will be vital to maintain the principle of global rules for a global industry, which cannot be guaranteed if emission reduction measures are left entirely to the high level climate change talks at UNFCCC, or if unilateral action is taken by the European Commission, which will be the likely result if agreement is not reached by governments at IMO next week."

"A ‘yes’ vote on technical measures will also make the subsequent development, by IMO, of so called 'market-based measures' far more attainable.

"Market-based measures are expected to provide a means whereby shipping can make a significant financial contribution to environmental projects in developing countries - satisfying the UNFCCC principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibility’, something which is important to developing countries," the ICS added,

The ICS recently announced that if market-based measures to reduce CO2 emissions were developed by governments, there was a 'definite preference' for a mechanism that was fuel levy/compensation fund-based rather than any emissions trading scheme.