Global shipping continues to seriously harm the environment, the ocean, and human health, despite repeated attempts by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the international community, and the maritime industry to address the problems.
This is the conclusion of the most recent study exposing the shipping industry\’s negative effects, which was released in honor of the 50th anniversary of the MARPOOL Convention, the most significant international legal instrument created to address the negative environmental effects of international shipping.
The research, titled \”The State of Shipping & Oceans,\” was commissioned by Seas At Risk and released as governments from all around the world gather in London for the IMO to adopt a new climate strategy for shipping. The IMO will have the chance to discuss these problems at MEPC 80 this week.
The report emphasizes the failure of all prior initiatives to limit shipping\’s negative effects, especially its impact on the climate, and the significant gap between current actions and the reductions needed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and most recent scientific findings:
Climate Change
Shipping has frequently fallen short of reducing its emissions and making a fair and equitable contribution to resolving the global warming challenge. While the IPCC climate science calls for \”deep and rapid reductions\” across sectors to stay inside the 1.5°C temperature rise target imposed by the Paris Agreement, shipping emissions are anticipated to increase quickly.
Ocean Health
Shipping is able to disregard ocean health due to insufficient and poorly enforced rules. This includes port expansion leading to poor air quality, marine and coastal erosion, including oil and chemical spills and discharges, undersea noise, sewage, and plastic pollution.
Human Health
Shipping continues to have a negative impact on port communities\’ health and wellbeing, particularly in developing nations. Around 250,000 premature deaths and six million incidents of children asthma are caused annually by the toxic pollutants from fossil-fueled ships, and laborers who break up the ships on South Asian beaches face serious human rights violations.
In order to ensure that these concerns are addressed in an advanced, integrated, and coordinated manner, it is necessary to fundamentally rethink the role that shipping plays in today\’s society.
