IMO Releases Fourth GHG Study For Reducing Emissions From Ships

The Fourth IMO GHG Study Executive Summary has been published. This study is the first iteration since the adoption of the Initial IMO Strategy on Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships in 2018, under which IMO Member States have pledged to cut GHG emissions from international shipping and to phase them out as soon as possible.

The study estimates that total shipping emitted 1,056 million tonnes of CO2 in 2018, accounting for about 2.89% of the total global anthropogenic CO2 emissions for that year. Under a new voyage-based allocation method, the share of international shipping represented 740 million tonnes of CO2 in 2018.

According to a range of plausible long-term economic and energy business-as-usual scenarios, shipping emissions could represent 90-130% of 2008 emissions by 2050.

Image Credits: IMO

For the first time, the study includes estimates of carbon intensity. Overall carbon intensity has improved between 2012 and 2018 for international shipping as a whole, as well as for most ship types. The overall carbon intensity, as an average across international shipping, was between 21 and 29% better than in 2008.

IMO has been actively engaged in a global approach to further enhance ship’s energy efficiency and develop measures to reduce GHG emissions from ships, as well as provide technical cooperation and capacity-building activities (read more here).

Press Release

Source: Maritime Shipping News