Editorial of Ship&Offshore GreenTech 2021: Nice to have, but not enough
Kathrin Lau, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
The ambitions of the international shipping industry to reduce CO2 emissions and thus achieve the IMO’s climate targets remain unbroken. By adopting the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CCI) at its recent session, the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) agreed to important short-term measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in shipping.
It is now a question of filling those measures with life and helping shipowners calculate the index and assess the various options for compliance strategies. What’s more, some suggest that it may be necessary to discuss if and what kind of sanctions there will be for those failing to comply.
As always with new regulations, some welcome them, for others they don’t go far enough, and then there are sceptics who doubt their efficacy and see too many hurdles in complying with them.
In any case, it is to be welcomed that IMO member states were able to agree at relatively short notice on the next steps on the road to climate-neutral shipping. However, at this point, the conditions only apply until 2026; a specific clause requires the IMO to review the effectiveness of the implementation of the CII and EEXI requirements by January 1st 2026 at the latest, and, if necessary, develop and adopt further amendments.
Given the relatively long lives of ships, that is virtually the day after tomorrow and severely restricts the ability of shipowners to plan ahead reasonably. Anyone who orders new ships today – which, unlike the fleet in service, are subject to the EEDI introduced in 2013 – must be sure that their ships can also continue to operate effectively despite the tighter regulatory regime that is likely over the next 20 years.
But, let’s face it, that’s not possible. To establish a climate-neutral or emissions-free shipping industry, it is first and foremost necessary to have the appropriate fuels. And at the moment, whilst there are plenty of good ideas, these are either still under development, not yet available at competitive prices, and lack a robust global supply infrastructure.
One significant disappointment following the outcomes of MEPC 76 was the absence of proposals on funding the vast R&D programme that will be required for the development of new zero-carbon and carbon-free fuels. Already in 2019, industry associations, including BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping and CLIA, put forward the idea of setting up an International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB), which is funded by shipowners over a period of ten years. Two years later, a decision on this proposal remains on hold.
The maritime industry has proven time and again that it is innovative, that it can respond to change and that it can successfully advance forward-looking technologies. But alas, the pace of progress that is required needs a dependable and mandatory regulatory framework and, of course, development money to push forward what is needed for a green industry. Ideas and opportunities are there – and this year, too, the readers of our GreenTech Special Edition can convince themselves of this.
