The issue of global warming and climate change has become a topic which requires urgent attention by the international community. Visible impacts of the phenomenon demand that concrete actions are taken to mitigate its risks.

The discussion during the United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 15) held in Copenhagen in December 2009 and the failure of the international community to agree on a binding approach to confront climate change painted a grim picture of a world reeling from the adverse effects of climate change and underscores the challenge ahead to mobilise global efforts to mitigate its risks.

Arising from COP15, serious efforts must be undertaken if the shipping sector is to attain this lofty target. All parties and industries must make the issue of reducing carbon emissions a priority and must aim to put in place measures to reduce or limit the growth of carbon dioxide emissions.

This applies to the wider maritime industry as well. One way or another, industry players must prepare themselves for a lower carbon future, and that future could be coming sooner than they think.

Take the case of shipping, for example, which facilitates much of international trade volumes. Despite shipping contributing a mere 3.3 percent of the global total of carbon emissions (Lloyd’s List, December 2009), carbon emissions from shipping are estimated to have doubled since 1990.

It is projected that carbon emissions from shipping will grow by a factor of two to three by 2050 from 2007 levels should no regulatory measures are put in place to lower the emissions.

In the face of this, it is crucial that studies are undertaken to make shipping more energy efficient and cleaner. The IMO’s Greenhouse Gas Study, updated in 2009, reported that the application of “known technology and practices” could make vessels 25 to 75 percent more efficient, depending on vessel type.

However, adapting such technology and practices may open a Pandora’s box of other issues. In the event that shipowners pass the costs incurred from going green onto their customers, the latter will in turn pass their costs down to end users and consumers of the cargo they ship.

It can also be debated that given the considerable costs involved in practicing green shipping, there may not be much of an incentive for shipowners to increase efficiency of their ships to a level that will make a difference on a global scale.

Unless they can gain competitive advantage by going green, or at least can avoid competitive disadvantage, it is hard to imagine that shipowners are going to adopt a voluntary technological revolution to change the entire shipping industry to a greener one, especially at a time when many of them are reeling from the crushing impact of global recession and falling demand for shipping services.

While it is encouraging to note the growing awareness among stakeholders in the maritime sector of the need for them to reduce carbon outputs, there is also a need to anticipate the effects of adapting measures to mitigate the risk of climate change.

This warrants research that can lead to policy options that will lead to implementable, practical and effective measures to reduce the impact of climate change on the maritime sector and balance them with business imperatives and other national agenda.

Although the maritime sector is governed by in-house and in-agencies rules and regulations and international conventions related to environmental protection, there are no clear guidelines on how the maritime sector can help to reduce its carbon footprint and contribution to global warming.

There lacks a set of best practices consisting of processes, procedures and measures for the local maritime sector to reduce pollution and protect the fragile marine environment.

This situation, while highly undesirable, demands industry players and research institutes to fill in this gap by conducting research on climate change and developing a set of policy options that can lead to the formation of a green maritime policy for the industry and nations.

Despite the odd voice of scepticism about the impact of greenhouse gases on global warming, there is no denying the threat.

What you don’t see can indeed harm you.

The time for everyone, including practitioners in the maritime sector, to spring into action to mitigate this threat action is NOW!

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