Navigation path
Page navigation
- Climate change in brief
- Climate and energy package
- Roadmap 2050
- European Climate Change Programme
- Greenhouse gas Monitoring & Reporting
- Emissions Trading System
- Effort Sharing Decision
- Low Carbon Technologies
- Transport
- Ozone Layer Protection
- Fluorinated Gases
- Forests and Agriculture
- Adaptation to climate change
- Climate finance
- Working with International Partners
Additional tools
Globally emissions from ships are a large and growing source of greenhouse gases (mainly CO2) that are causing climate change. Shipping greenhouse emissions, currently approximately 900 million tones per year globally, are expected to more than double by 2050 in the absence of action. However, to limit climate change to 2 degrees °C, global emissions need to be reduced by at least 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.
There is currently no international regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Despite many years of efforts, in particular in the International Maritime Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change it has not been possible to agree on an effective global approach to regulating these emissions.
The European Union is actively engaged in pursuing international agreement on global measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international maritime transport. Although considerable efforts are being made, primarily in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), progress towards effective global reduction measures has so far been limited (see Annex I).
In parallel, if the IMO and UNFCCC processes fail to include emissions from shipping into reduction commitments this year, there is a commitment from the EU to include these emissions into the existing EU reduction commitment. In this regard, the European Commission is considering possible European action in 2012.
European Climate Change Programme (ECCPII)
Under the European Climate Change Programme II (ECCPII), a working group ("WG 6 - Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships") has been established to allow for a formal technical stakeholder consultation. It aims at providing input to the Commission in its work to develop and assess options for the inclusion of international maritime transport in the EU's greenhouse gas reduction commitment.
High Level Platform (HLP)
In addition to the stakeholder consultation, the European Commission has established a High Level Platform to enable a high level strategic discussion directly with Vice President Kallas and Commissioner Hedegaard. The first meeting took place on the 3 February 2011, a second meeting will take place on 24 May 2011, and the third meeting is envisaged for autumn 2011.