European Parliament: Emissions from Shipping Should Be Regulated at UN Level

The Industry Committee of the European Parliament adopted its report on the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) on October 13, and stressed that the climate impact of shipping should be regulated at UN level, according to Danish Shipowners’ Association.

The Committee therefore rejected the inclusion of shipping in the EU ETS.

Ahead of yesterday’s vote, several Members of the European Parliament had presented amendments which would have included shipping in the regional CO2 emission’s trading scheme of the EU. However, following the vote, it was clear that a large majority of the Committee believes shipping should be regulated globally.

Conservative Member of the Industry Committee, Bendt Bendtsen, said that regional rules in the EU would be a setback for the competitiveness of Danish and European shipowners. He believes that a regional solution would not result in the desired reduction of CO2 emissions since the majority of the world’s fleet would not be part of the EU’s proposal.

“Today’s vote is important because it sends a clear signal. The vote reflects that a regional approach would not be sustainable for shipping, and that in order to achieve significant CO2 reductions, we have to look beyond our borders. This of course also means that the eyes of the European Parliament are now set on the IMO,” Bendtsen said.

Focus is now on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which meets late October to decide on how to reduce the CO2-emissions of shipping at the international level.

The vote in the Industry Committee is the first step in the European Parliaments handling of the case. The next step is the Environment Committee’s opinion in December, Danish Shipowners’ Association said.