NGOs urge countries to include shipping emissions in national Paris climate plans

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Opportunity Green, Seas At Risk, and Transport & Environment have called on states to include their shipping emissions in their national climate plans under the Paris Agreement.

This comes as world leaders and maritime stakeholders gather at the UN’s Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice on June 9-13, to debate steps to strengthen ocean protection and sustainability.

As explained, in the lead-up to COP30 in Brazil, including shipping in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) would give countries a stronger mandate to take action to tackle the industry’s emissions, including introducing new national and regional policies and accelerating shipping’s energy transition.

Several legal analyses agree that shipping falls under the Paris Agreement’s scope of “economy-wide emission” coverage, and that this is a “glaring gap” in most countries’ climate plans.

The recent approval of the draft International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework at the 83rd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) is said to represent “a historic milestone”. The framework, if adopted in October, will introduce the first-ever, legally binding global measure for shipping to generate revenues through penalties on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, integrated within a marine fuels standard, aiming to achieve the IMO’s 2023 Revised Strategy emission reduction targets.

While the IMO’s agreement is a significant step for decarbonizing the shipping sector, it falls seriously short of achieving the IMO’s agreed climate and equity commitments. Additional and complementary policy action at national and regional level is urgently needed to close this gap, the NGOs believe.

Incorporating shipping in a systematic way in NDCs would provide a legislative mandate for countries to introduce and enforce regulatory measures to curb shipping’s significant climate impacts. This would also provide the urgently needed confidence and certainty to the industry and stakeholders to invest in real zero-emission solutions today, as per the three NGOs.

“Including maritime shipping in NDCs aligns with UNOC’s broader goals to accelerate action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean,” Opportunity Green, Seas at Risk and T&E said.

Specifically, the NGOs have called upon all nations to:

• Integrate their international shipping emissions into their NDCs, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all major emission sources;
• Implement national and regional policies that support the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework, including incentives for zero-emission technologies and infrastructure development;
• Promote industry innovation by investing in research and development of zero-emission fuels and technologies;
• Support developing countries, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in building capacity to meet new maritime environmental standards.

“For too long, states have ignored their international legal obligations to regulate the dirty greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping and the damage being done to our oceans. International courts are starting to shine a light on this glaring gap, and states need to respond by bringing international shipping into their NDCs and properly addressing these emissions. Accountability is the first step to meaningful action,” Aoife O’Leary, CEO of Opportunity Green, commented.

“Each year, 10 billion tonnes of toxic waste is dumped into the sea from ships, which then feeds into our food chains. Some food for thought as decision makers gather in Nice to enjoy the local seafood during the United Nations Ocean Conference. Shipping’s impact is mostly invisible but the damage is real: One of the most meaningful steps countries can take is to recognise shipping emissions in their NDCs, putting the ocean at the heart of climate action,” Anaïs Rios, Seas At Risk, said.

“As the world descends on Belem on the banks of the largest inland waterway on earth, it is crucial that states finally take responsibility for the shipping emissions that carry the international trade they so cherish. Contrary to industry claims, legal analysis has shown that shipping and aviation are in fact part of the Paris Agreement. Countries must revise their NDCs to take into account all their shipping emissions into their ‘economy-wide’ national contributions as required by the Paris Agreement and price all the maritime carbon emissions, which the IMO preliminary deal will not,” Faig Abbasov, Transport & Environment, highlighted.

“As the global community gathers in Nice, we urge governments to seize this opportunity to take concrete actions that will ensure the maritime sector contributes its fair share to combating climate change,” the NGOs concluded.

Shipping emissions have been rising steadily, representing around 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and are expected to increase by up to 50% by 2050 if no action is taken. The growing volume of global shipping is one of the main spreaders of invasive species, damaging ecosystems around the world.

Countries are expected to submit their next round of climate action plans (NDCs) which will outline how they plan to achieve their commitments to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C as agreed under the Paris Agreement. Including ocean-based climate action in NDCs can significantly scale up emission cuts and raise ambition. In the previous NDC cycle, 25 countries included ocean transport mitigation in their NDCs, though few specified whether actions targeted domestic or international shipping. While the IMO regulates international shipping emissions, countries still play a key role in driving decarbonization across the sector domestically.

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