Argentina, Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia have set out to limit the climate targets due to be discussed at the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in April.
Climate Home News has reported that the four countries want to cut several parts of a draft global agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, which is due to be legislated at the forthcoming MEPC meeting in London. The group has deleted sections which propose to cap greenhouse gas emissions from shipping at 2008 levels and to reduce them significantly by 2050.
The four countries have also demanded that the wording on the bid to make shipping a zero-carbon sector by 2075 be changed so the firm date of 2075 is replaced with “no later than in the second half of this century”.
The Council of the European Union said last month that the IMO had to stand firm to ensure the international shipping industry adhered to commitments made in line with the Paris Agreement.
“The Council of the EU emphasizes the need for the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to take swift and appropriate additional actions in order for international shipping to contribute its fair share to the fight against climate change and to agree in April 2018 on an initial greenhouse gas IMO emission reduction strategy”, the EU said.