Lloyds List reported on the 27th of January that the UK Government is seeking local emissions trading measures rather than waiting for global regulation from IMO. “UK to push for regional carbon curbs rather than wait for IMO”
UK Chamber of Shipping director-general Mark Brownrigg is reported to have responded that;
“This displays a lack of understanding of the shipping industry and how it is regulated, which were also echoed in some of the commentary during evidence sessions,”
Whilst the select committee chairman Tim Yeo suggested during a parliamentary questioning last October that; “progress at the IMO, a trade body masquerading as a UN body, is glacial” and “it makes the aviation industry look like a bunch of tree-hugging zealots”.
We have no desire to get in the middle of the GHG debate but there certainly seems to be a conflict here between the government's desired pace of action on carbon emissions reductions and the view of the IMO, with the government view perhaps being that IMO is not acting as quickly as it would like.
Whilst the carbon reduction debate is not connected directly to sulphur legislation, given the divergence of opinion and the tone of the rhetoric, one can be forgiven for questioning whether there is any realistic likeihood of the government supporting calls from the shipping industry to delay implementation of the 2015 Emission Control Area 0.1% sulphur cap.
Ship operators must ask themselves how credible a “wait and hope for a delay” policy is and perhaps more importantly, just what it might end up costing them?
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