What is the impact of shipping on climate change?
Shipping is responsible for 3% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. If no measures are taken, these emissions are expected to reach 6% by 2020 and to double or triple by 2050. If global cargo shipping were a country, it would have the same emissions as Britain.What is the EEDI?
The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), approved in July 2011 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is the first globally-binding climate change standard ever set for the transport sector. It will apply to 180 states and will enter into force on 1 January 2013. The index will require new ships to become more energy efficient, with standards that will be made increasingly more stringent over time.How more fuel efficient will EEDI ships have to be, and by when?
Different classes of ship will have different standards to meet. However:- an overall 10% improvement target in vessels' energy efficiency will apply to new ships built between 2015 and 2019.
- Ships built between 2020 and 2024 will have to improve their energy efficiency by 15 to 20%, depending on the ship type.
- Ships delivered after 2024 will have to be 30% more efficient. With the pace of fleet renewal, it will take one or two decades before the EEDI is fully effective for all ships, meaning it won't really make a meaningful difference to global shipping emissions before 2035. However, it is anticipated that global CO2 reductions of 10 to 20% could be obtained in 2030, against a business as usual scenario.
Do the EEDI standards apply to all countries?
Ships flying under the flags of developing countries will have to be EEDI compliant six and a half years after the EEDI comes into force, i.e. from July 2019. Because the waiver applies to countries and not to individual ships, in theory ships could all re-flag their vessels to developing states to take advantage of the waiver. But at least one major industry body has said this should not happen. Developing countries also secured a process of technical assistance and technology transfer.Which kind of opposition did the approval of the EEDI encounter at IMO level?
Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and other developing countries strongly opposed the approval of the EEDI, not so much because they are against standards but because the EEDI is a measure that was designed to apply universally. For those countries, it sets a precedent against the climate policy principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)" i.e. that the developing world should have to do less to reduce emissions than developed countries.How does the EEDI result in lower emissions?
If ships are more energy efficient, they will burn less fuel and - as a consequence - emit less carbon dioxide.