A report written by Aoife O’Leary, CEO Opportunity Green.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has all the powers necessary to regulate the emissions from the full lifecycle of any shipping fuels, including the ability to place that regulation within the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention).

Presently, the shipping industry’s reliance on fossil fuels results in significant climate damage through ‘downstream emissions’, when the fuel is burnt on ships and emissions enter the air. While alternative fuels need to be developed to tackle this, many of the fuels under discussion could instead cause significant climate damage due to their ‘upstream emissions’ at the feedstock, transport and/or production stages. Therefore, it is important that the IMO regulates the full lifecycle of shipping fuel emissions.

This paper identifies three key arguments to support the IMO’s ability to 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; and,

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

As such, we find that the IMO has broad powers to enact almost any required measure in the transition to a zero emissions sector.