THE shipping industry could aid in reducing carbon emissions and help in the fight against climate change.

Pacific leaders have voiced their concern about the carbon footprint left behind by the ships and the International Maritime Organisation was approached to help with this and on April 22 IMO, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s sister UN specialised agency, met in London to discuss shipping’s “fair share” in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs).

It was a less publicised and not nearly so successful climate change debate. Pacific and Europe have been pressing the IMO since before Paris to join the “coalition of higher ambition”. In the lead-up to Earth Day, the IMO stumbled but didn’t quite fall. It has agreed to re-open the debate at their next meeting in October.

If shipping were a country, it would contribute as much GHGs as Germany or Japan. But it is the projected rate of increase that is of greatest concern. Without strong leadership to decarbonise, ship emissions will increase by 50-250 per cent by 2050 (IMO 3rd GHG report 2014). It simply makes efforts by other sectors to stay within 1.50C mission impossible.

Last week the Solomon Islands led a determined Pacific voice including the Marshall Islands, Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu in a coalition with much of Europe, and other developing states led by Mexico and Liberia with the industry’s support, for IMO to agree on a plan to work out what shipping’s “fair share” should be.

Strong opposition came from BRICs (the grouping composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Saudi Arabia and several South American countries were concerned about the negative impacts of any commitment to mitigate shipping’s GHG emissions on their developing economies and the challenges to resolving anything. In a compromise, the IMO agreed to table a further debate to its long-term objectives and response to the Paris Climate Agreement but not until October.

The strongest opposition to control of shipping emissions came from one of the smallest and most vulnerable Pacific countries — the Cook Islands, in complete reversal of their position on climate change in Paris, and in opposition to many other Pacific Island countries at the IMO.

“Knowing the position of the Cook Islands on climate change and their strong engagement at COP21 in Paris, both in the negotiations and at side-events, this appears a contradiction — as if their representatives in London were disconnected from the climate negotiations and the Paris Agreement” said PIDF’s secretary general François Martel.

The Pacific Islands Development Forum has long supported the Pacific’s lead in the IMO. The Suva Declaration on Climate Change, signed by Pacific leaders at the 3rd PIDF summit in 2015, called on all UN bodies to take decisive action on shipping emissions. University of the South Pacific researchers have co-ordinated a full team of technical support for the coalition in conjunction with leading international universities.

“We can be confident we have access to the best available science on this issue” said Mr Martel.

France joined Fiji and RMI in speaking strongly for the IMO to take a progressive approach and told the IMO: “We must put together a plan and timeframe for GHG reduction. Or be judged as impotent.”

The incoming secretary-general of the IMO has called climate change the central issue for the IMO to address. He pushed hard for this not to be ‘thrown out’ at this stage, suggesting it is “unwise to kill the thinking/idea…”

The next debate will be in October.