LOGISTICS097Photo: IMO has beendeveloping technical andoperational measures toreduce greenhouse gasemissions from shipsbetween US$34 to US$68 billion in fuel costs, as wellas reduce CO2 emissions from international maritimetransport by up to 200 million tonnes, by 2020.Shipping is already the most energy efficient way totransport goods and raw materials around the worldand, as such, is only a modest contributor to global(GHG) emissions. In the 2009 IMO Study on GHGEmissions from Ships, international shipping wasestimated to have emitted 870 million tonnes, orabout 2.7 per cent of the global emissions of CO2 in2007, despite being responsible for carrying morethan 90 per cent of world trade by tonne-mile. Nevertheless, through IMO, Governments have beenengaged for some considerable time in a processaimed at reducing still further the release of harmfulatmospheric emissions from ships. Due to the globalcharacter of shipping, an effective control regimerequires global regulation that applies universally to allships and thereby maintains a level playing-field for allships, irrespective of the country in which the ship isregistered (flag State) or the nationality of the vessel'sownership. This has now been achieved, through theamendments to MARPOL Annex VI.The amendments to MARPOL Annex VI add a newChapter 4 to the Annex, entitled Regulations on energyefficiency for ships to make mandatory the EnergyEfficiency Design Index (EEDI), for new ships, and theShip Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) forall ships. Other amendments to Annex VI add newdefinitions and the requirements for survey andcertification, including the format for the InternationalEnergy Efficiency Certificate.TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONALMEASURESThe EEDI is a technical measure, which requires allnew ships above 400 gross tonnage to meet aminimum energy efficiency level per capacity mile (i.e.

tonne mile). The required energy efficiency level will beincreasingly tightened with ships built in or after 2013having to be 10 per cent more efficient, ships built in orafter 2020 having to be 20 per cent more efficient andships built after 2024 having to be 30 per cent moreefficient than the average ships built between 2000and 2010. To measure compliance, IMO will use ametric calculation called the EEDI formula. Thus, the EEDI is a non-prescriptive, performance-basedmechanism that leaves the choice of technologies touse in a specific ship design to the industry. As long asthe required energy-efficiency level is attained, shipdesigners and builders are free to use the most cost-efficient and feasible solutions for the ship to complywith the regulations. Moreover, the EEDI will stimulatecontinued technical development of all thecomponents influencing the fuel efficiency of a ship. To allow for national shipping Administrations,particularly in developing countries, that need moretime to be able to implement and enforce the newenergy efficiency measures, a shipping Administrationmay waive the EEDI for the first four years. The SEEMPis an operational measure that applies to all new andexisting ships. It establishes a mechanism to assist theinternational shipping industry to achieve cost-effective energy efficiency improvements of themanner in which a ship is being operated. It providesan approach for monitoring ship and fleet efficiencyperformance over time, using the Energy EfficiencyOperational Index, also developed by IMO, as amonitoring tool and benchmark. It urges the shipowner and operator at each stage of the plan toconsider new technologies and practices when seekingto optimise the performance of a ship.MARKET-BASED MEASURESAside from the new MARPOL amendments, it has alsobeen recognised that technical and operationalmeasures would not be, in the longer term, sufficientto meet the overall reduction objectives indicated byscientific research - particularly in view of the growthprojections for world trade and, as a consequence, ofshipping. IMO has, therefore, concluded that a market-based measure (MBM) is also needed, as part of acomprehensive package of measures for the effectiveregulation of GHG emissions from internationalshipping. MBMs place a price on GHG emissions,thereby providing both an economic incentive for themaritime industry to invest in more fuel-efficient ships and technologies and to operate ships in a more energy-efficient manner, and a mechanism tooffset growing ship emissions in other sectors. Inaddition, MBMs can generate funds that could be used for different purposes such as climate changeactions in developing countries. In recent sessions,MEPC has been considering a number of MBMproposals submitted by Governments and observerorganisations.RECONCILING UNFCCC AND IMOPRINCIPLESIMO was established as a specialised agency under theUnited Nations to regulate all aspects of internationalshipping. IMO is therefore regarded as the solecompetent organisation with a global mandate toregulate the reduction or limitation of GHG emissionsfrom international shipping. The global nature ofshipping is addressed in IMO's constitutiveConvention, which enshrines the "No More FavourableTreatment" (NMFT) Principle, which requires ships tobe regulated without discrimination on account of theflag they fly or the nationality of the owner.On the other hand, the UNFCCC principle of "CommonBut Differentiated Responsibilities" (CBDR) has beenagreed to enable the sharing of burdens betweenStates and to place obligations for reductions inemissions principally on countries with historicresponsibility for the current and projected climateeffects. Reconciling the CBDR Principle with IMO'sNMFT Principle has proven a challenge. However, dueto the global nature of shipping, and the fact that mostships are registered in open registries established indeveloping countries, historic emission responsibilitieswithin the global shipping industry are quite differentfrom those within land-based industrial sources ofGHG emissions. Recognising the fundamental importance of the CBDRPrinciple under the UNFCCC regime and, at the sametime, conscious of IMO's NMFT Principle, IMO and its098LOGISTICS" "SHIPPING IS ALREADY THEMOST ENERGY EFFICIENT WAY TOTRANSPORTGOODS AND RAWMATERIALSAROUND THEWORLD AND, AS SUCH, IS ONLY A MODEST CONTRIBUTOR TOGLOBAL (GHG)EMISSIONS