The DSA supports the establishing of a global market based instrument for regulating CO2-emission from international shipping.

At the Annual Meeting today, the new elected chairman of the Danish Shipowners’ Association, Lars Vang Christensen, CEO herning shipping a.s., says:

- Danish shipowners expect to reduce CO2-emissions by technical measures with 15 % by 2020 on average compared to 2007. However, Danish shipowners are also truly committed to take responsibility to further lower global CO2-emissions and we realize that it cannot be done by technical measures only; therefore the DSA finds it necessary to commit to an international market based regulation.

The basic approaches of establishing an emission trading scheme or some kind of greenhouse gas contribution fund have been studied carefully. These approaches have many fundamental and practical elements in common.

- To ensure environmental effectiveness and to avoid distortion of competition it is essential that the instrument applies globally to all ships regardless of flag. It appears that the current Danish proposal on a greenhouse gas contribution fund will be the most transparent and easier to understand and administer, it will provide certainty on cost to the shipping industry, and it will without any doubt influence environmental behaviour positively, says Chairman of the DSA, Lars Vang Christensen.

The DSA strongly support the ongoing deliberations in IMO and would welcome an early international agreement also on the more market based CO2 reduction systems in order to secure the best possible result from December’s COP-15 in Copenhagen in relation to the future IMO work.
 

(For further information please contact: Executive Vice President Jan Fritz Hansen, tel: + 45 40 94 22 07 or counsellor Louise Feilberg Levy, tel: + 45 40 53 88 22)

15/05/09