Stakeholders have demanded an end to ocean shipping pollution, which has substantially affected port community members.

According to them, the shipping sector could account for 17 to 18 per cent of global emissions by 2050 if corrective policies are not put in place.

They noted that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the United Nations agency that regulates shipping have set a goal of reducing shipping emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050, however, the IMO’s mandate is not aligned with achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5-degrees C and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The Program Director for shipping at the European Federation for Transport and Environment, Faig Abbasov, said countries and regulatory bodies like the United Nations International Maritime Organisation need to pass legislation forcing shipping companies to cut emissions and implement new technologies.

He said increased use of new technology in shipping could help bring down costs and encourage companies to make changes.

The United States Congressman, Alan Lowenthal, said everyone must work together towards zeroing out pollution from all ocean shipping companies that do business to ensure the safety of children, community and the environment that has been affected by the toxic emission.

The Deputy Executive Officer of Planning, Freight & Toxics Division at the California Air Resources Board, (CARB), Edie Chang, said measures are already ongoing to vigorously attack every source of harmful pollution from the transportation of freight that impacts the health of port-adjacent communities.

He said these measures include requiring ships to use clean-burning fuel and plugging those ships into the grid and turning off their engines while loading and unloading.

“ We recently updated our standards for harbor craft from ferries to tugboats so they use the very cleanest engines. We are proposing regulations to require that trucks transporting containers in and out of ports shift rapidly to zero emissions.

“We are continuing to push for tougher federal new engine standards for locomotives to complement our proposed regulations to address sources of pollution like interstate locomotives that California must have to clean the air, especially near port-adjacent communities that are already burdened by high levels of air pollution,” he said.

The Federal Climate Policy Director, Pacific Environment, Antonio Santos, said: “We are on the cusp of market changes for zero-emission shipping. But we face a climate crisis and its incumbent on federal, state, and local governments to put into place policies and investments to help accelerate the process.

Source: https://guardian.ng/business-services/maritime/stakeholders-seek-corrective-policies-to-end-shipping-pollution/