Global shipping regulator underwhelms with new emissions targets

To move goods, freight ships burn roughly 300 million metric tonnes of dirty bunker fuel each year, producing 3 percent of global greenhouse emissions [File: Yonhap/ EPA-EFE]

At its marine environment protection committee meeting last week, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed to new shipping emissions targets to keep global temperature rises below 1.5°C (2.8°F) by mid-century, in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement. The proposal was panned by climate activists who said the targets didn’t go far enough.

The United Nations-backed agency, and de facto regulator of global shipping, first adopted measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2011. But last week’s pledge – which reinforced previous targets – was designed to achieve net-zero emissions “by or around” 2050.