The European Commission has reiterated its support for shipping emissions to be addressed globally at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), as long as it meets agreed deadlines.
The messaged was delivered at the opening plenary session of the 57th session of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC57) meeting in London this week.
"We have a strong preference for global solutions through the IMO, an EC official said in a general statement to the MEPC.
He reiterated that EC would give the IMO until the end of 2008 to complete its work on revising MARPOL Annex VI, despite pressure from the European Council and European Parliament to impose unilateral measures sooner.
MEPC 57 is expected to finalise and approve proposed draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code, with a view to adopting the amendments at MEPC 58, which convenes in October 2008.
With regards to European regulations on controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, the official said the European Commission would await IMO initiatives until 2009, in accordance with the IMO's own timetable.
The IMO has said it aims to finalise a regulatory framework for GHG emissions by July 2009.
He warned, however, that if the IMO fails to meet its own agreed 2008 and 2009 deadlines, the European Union would have "the right and the duty" to implement its own measures to protect human health and the environment.
The EC official stressed in his general statement that the Commission believes strongly that GHG measures must be made mandatory.
The IMO has said it hopes to complete a CO2 Emission Indexing Scheme and a CO2 emission baseline ahead of schedule by October 2008.
Ways to reduce GHG emissions from ships and whether measures should be made mandatory are currently under discussion at the MEPC.
The European Commission is under pressure from the European Parliament to address shipping emissions faster than what has so far been archived at the IMO, and the European Council has asked for shipping's CO2 emissions to be included in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
The messaged was delivered at the opening plenary session of the 57th session of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC57) meeting in London this week.
"We have a strong preference for global solutions through the IMO, an EC official said in a general statement to the MEPC.
He reiterated that EC would give the IMO until the end of 2008 to complete its work on revising MARPOL Annex VI, despite pressure from the European Council and European Parliament to impose unilateral measures sooner.
MEPC 57 is expected to finalise and approve proposed draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code, with a view to adopting the amendments at MEPC 58, which convenes in October 2008.
With regards to European regulations on controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, the official said the European Commission would await IMO initiatives until 2009, in accordance with the IMO's own timetable.
The IMO has said it aims to finalise a regulatory framework for GHG emissions by July 2009.
He warned, however, that if the IMO fails to meet its own agreed 2008 and 2009 deadlines, the European Union would have "the right and the duty" to implement its own measures to protect human health and the environment.
The EC official stressed in his general statement that the Commission believes strongly that GHG measures must be made mandatory.
The IMO has said it hopes to complete a CO2 Emission Indexing Scheme and a CO2 emission baseline ahead of schedule by October 2008.
Ways to reduce GHG emissions from ships and whether measures should be made mandatory are currently under discussion at the MEPC.
The European Commission is under pressure from the European Parliament to address shipping emissions faster than what has so far been archived at the IMO, and the European Council has asked for shipping's CO2 emissions to be included in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).