Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
PROPOSED MBMS FOR REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING AND THE WTO RULES
Md Saiful Karim*
Felicity Deane**
The international shipping sector is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has adopted some technical and operational measures to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping. However, these measures may not be enough to reduce the amount of GHG emissions from international shipping to an acceptable level. Therefore, the IMO Member States are currently considering a number of proposals for the introduction of market-based measures (MBMs). During the negotiation process, some leading developing countries raised questions about the probable conflict of the proposed MBMs with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This article comprehensively examines this issue and argues that none of the MBM proposals currently under consideration by the IMO has any conflict with the WTO rules.
I. INTRODUCTION
The international shipping sector contributes approximately 2.7 per cent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.1 Emissions from the maritime sector may double by the year 2050 if there is no concrete action from the global community.2 Exponential growth in international shipping and global trade warrants immediate proactive action to achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions from this sector.3
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the “Kyoto Protocol”) requires developed nations to pursue the limitation or reduction of GHG emissions working through the International Maritime Organisation (“IMO”).4
* Lecturer, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology.
** Lecturer, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology.
The following abbreviations are used in the footnotes:
Van Den Bossche: Peter Van Den Bossche, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 2nd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2008);
WTO Analytical Index: World Trade Organisation, WTO Analytical Index: Guide to WTO Law and Practice, 2nd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
1. IMO, Second IMO GHG Study Summary, IMO Doc. MEPC 59/4/7 (9 April 2009).
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, opened for signature 11 December 1997, 2303 UNTS 148 (entered into force 16 February 2005); United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, opened for signature 4 June 1992, 1771 UNTS 164 (entered into force 21 March 1994) (“UNFCCC”).
PROPOSED MBMS FOR REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
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