UN sets sulphur limit for shipping – nothing yet on carbon

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has put a cap on the amount of sulphur emissions from ships, which will come into effect in 2020.

Under the limit, which was decided in an IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in London in late October, vessels will only be able to use fuel with a maximum of 0.5% sulphur content in 2020. Currently the maximum is 3.5%. 

Certain countries were pushing for a 2025 start date, but an IMO-commissioned study concluded that there will be sufficient low-sulphur fuel available in 2020 for shipping companies to comply with the limit. 

However the International Chamber of Shipping says that the cost of compliant low sulphur fuel is likely to be 50% more than the cost of residual fuel – which is currently used outside marine emission control areas in North America and North West Europe.

The IMO decision was welcomed by environmental groups due to the effects of sulphur emissions on ocean acidification and human health. Bill Hemmings, Shipping Director at Transport & Environment said: ‘This is a landmark decision and we are very pleased that the world has bitten the bullet and is now tackling poisonous sulphuric fuel in 2020.’

But environmental groups also expressed disappointment at the lack of a deal on greenhouse gas emissions from the IMO, an area where further monitoring and more negotiations are to come. It is thought that no agreement will be implemented to address greenhouse gas emissions from shipping before 2023.

Both the shipping and aviation sectors are excluded from the Paris Agreement on climate change, but the latter reached a deal on an offsetting scheme to help mitigate its emissions (see Energy World November).

In October the IMO also postponed a review of ship energy efficiency targets till 2018.