Could this be the breakthrough in tackling shipping’s climate impact?

The energy efficiency rules would come in the form of a CO2 standard for new ships, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP). The EEDI, which has been trialled over the last two years, is a standard that sets energy efficiency targets for ships that will be progressively tightened while leaving designers and builders the freedom to choose the most cost-efficient technology to use. The SEEMP, currently being applied by some ships but only on a voluntary basis, is a mechanism for a shipping company or ship to improve the energy efficiency of ship operations.

A series of moves within the IMO, aimed at influencing positively this month’s climate change summit in Cancún, have turned a slow process into the potential for the first standard promoting energy efficiency – and thereby greenhouse gas emissions reductions – to apply to any industry across the world.

Nine states – Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Liberia and Norway – requested that the EEDI and SEEMP become mandatory, rather than voluntary last month after an earlier initiative last September was blocked by China and Saudi Arabia. They have therefore begun a process within the IMO that, if approved in July, will see the changes written into Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution by Ships (MARPOL). This would mean all new ships and shipping companies would have to comply by 2013.

But for this to happen, approval would have to be secured from at least two thirds of voting members that have ratified IMO’s MARPOL convention, and the voting majority would have to represent more than 50% of the world’s shipping tonnage. Strong developing country opposition is expected led by China and Saudi Arabia, but it is possible that enough support can be gathered for the move to be approved.

Developing countries have been divided on the issue with South Korea publicly supporting the EEDI last September. Much of the opposition comes from fears that adoption of a global measure such as the EEDI could set a precedent for developing countries in forums such as the UNFCCC.

T&E programme manager Bill Hemmings said, ‘This is a potentially significant breakthrough. The action of the nine states has thrown down a challenge to the rest of the shipping industry, and if it supports the proposed changes, that in turn will throw down a challenge to other industries, notably aviation. And it’s worth remembering that this is not just about action to tackle climate change, but about measures to make shipping cheaper in the long term. It’s a real win/win situation.’

Earlier this year, the EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the EU would impose its own regulations if shipping did not speed up the process of tackling its carbon footprint.

The IMO action has taken on added significance with the complete breakdown of talks in Cancún on reducing climate changing emissions from aviation and shipping. The issue will return to technical committees, but with no immediate prospect of any progress.

A new website was launched at the Cancún climate summit that provides energy efficiency details about 60,000 ships, including the majority of the world’s container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships cruise ships and ferries. The site rates ships from A to G (A the best, G the worst), and is encouraging ship operators to paint the rating on the hull. The site has been launched by an organisation called Carbon War Room, co-founded by the British industrialist Richard Branson, the creator of the Virgin Atlantic airline.