A European Commission (EC) official says “all options will be on the table” if there is failure to agree to international action on shipping's CO2 emissions. Hans Meijer, Policy Officer for Clean Air and Transport with EC's Environment Directorate-General, said the European Union (EU) would take action by itself if there were no new initiatives. The EU would prefer a global approach, he told the Sustainable Shipping Forum in Washington D.C. this week.
But speaking to Sustainable Shipping on the fringes of the conference, Meijer said the EU wanted to see international agreement by the end of 2009.
If there were no progress, he said, the EC would look at options including a levy on bunker fuel use for ships calling at EU ports, variable harbour dues, and the inclusion of shipping in the EU carbon trading schemes.
Meijer said the EU was not “hitting on shipping”, it was just one of the transport sectors under scrutiny in terms of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
But he said it was also clear that in shipping's case there was “room for improvement”.
But speaking to Sustainable Shipping on the fringes of the conference, Meijer said the EU wanted to see international agreement by the end of 2009.
If there were no progress, he said, the EC would look at options including a levy on bunker fuel use for ships calling at EU ports, variable harbour dues, and the inclusion of shipping in the EU carbon trading schemes.
Meijer said the EU was not “hitting on shipping”, it was just one of the transport sectors under scrutiny in terms of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
But he said it was also clear that in shipping's case there was “room for improvement”.