The IMO must stop hiding behind the myth that it has no legal remit to regulate the full lifecycle of fuels – it does 

Alternative fuels are only a climate solution if emissions on and off the ship are regulated.

(London, 26 April, 2023) A new report from climate change NGO Opportunity Green looks at the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) legal remit on upstream fuel emissions and dispels the myth that it doesn’t have the legal ability to regulate the emissions from the full lifecycle of fuel.

The report, The IMO’s Legal Remit on Upstream Fuel Emissions, details how the IMO ­– shipping’s global regulator – does indeed have a legal remit to regulate emissions from the full shipping fuel lifecycle (also known as well to wake emissions). It also puts to bed the argument that there is any legal barrier in the IMO or MARPOL Conventions that would prevent this – MARPOL does not regulate ships but rather regulates the countries that are members of the Convention.

The report reveals three principal reasons why the IMO can regulate upstream emissions:

1.      Such regulation is consistent with IMO objectives and purposes

2.      It is consistent with existing IMO practice on environmental regulation and fuels

3.      It is within the IMO’s competency and there are no legal limits preventing regulation.

In addition, if the full lifecycle of fuels is not properly regulated then any switch to alternative fuels could result in a situation where alternative fuels end up having a larger climate impact than the fuels being replaced.

Almost all countries in the world have signed up to the goals of the Paris Agreement but those goals will not be achieved unless shipping reduces its emissions. To phase out the emissions of the shipping industry, alternative fuels like ammonia, hydrogen and methanol will be required.

However, switching to these fuels isn’t straightforward. For example, (blue) hydrogen from natural gas could result in a virtually emissions-free fuel for a ship at the consumption stage. But on land, the production of this fuel could be responsible for significant upstream fugitive methane emissions. If the IMO only regulates the downstream emissions from the ship, it could therefore be missing a large part of shipping’s climate impact.

Aoife O’Leary, CEO of Opportunity Green and author of the report says:

“This is exactly why any regulation of international shipping which encourages the sector to switch fuels must look at the full lifecycle of the fuels. If it only addresses the emissions on the ship, it will not drive the investment signal that the sector desperately needs to ensure the right fuels are produced.

“The Convention on the International Maritime Organization (the IMO Convention) established the IMO and gave it very broad objectives, including the “prevention and control of marine pollution from ships”. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) also reinforces the broad powers of the IMO and tasks the IMO specifically with preventing, reducing and controlling pollution of the marine environment.

“The IMO clearly has the power to ensure all emissions from shipping fuels are considered and reduced – to continue to turn a blind eye to this is nothing short of reckless.”

The report also draws a parallel with the aviation industry. Despite there being no specific authority for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to regulate upstream emissions, ICAO found that it was within its remit to reduce the climate impact of aviation. This led to the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and the implementation of this market-based measure for the treatment of aviation CO2 emissions.

Aoife O’Leary concludes: “At Opportunity Green we believe lawyers are obligated to analyse existing legal systems and find innovative legal pathways to facilitate the legislation needed to slash carbon pollution. If the IMO is serious about cleaning up the shipping sector, it must stop hiding behind the myth that it has no legal remit to look at the full lifecycle of fuels.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Fuels release emissions at different stages of their lifecycle: when they are produced, refined, transported, or when they are grown if they are bioderived. This means that their upstream emissions, and wider environmental impacts, can cause significant damage to the climate even before reaching a ship’s tank. The full report can be viewed here.

The international shipping industry currently produces approximately 3% of all global greenhouse gases. Increasing demand for shipping services means that maritime emissions are accelerating faster than many other sectors and if no meaningful action is taken, shipping could account for 10-13% of global emissions by 2050.

Opportunity Green is an NGO working to unlock the opportunities from tackling climate change using law, economics, and policy. It does this by building ambitious coalitions, supporting climate vulnerable countries, and finding innovative legal pathways for bold climate action, with particular emphasis on the aviation and shipping industries.

Media contacts:

Hannah Jolliffe

Communications Manager, Opportunity Green
hannah@opportunitygreen.org

Aoife O’Leary
CEO, Opportunity Green
aoife@opportunitygreen.org