"World Agrees to Cut Shipping Emissions 50 Percent by 2050"

"The new International Maritime Organization agreement to shrink shipping’s climate impact is a first. Island states facing sea level rise say it's still too weak."

"The UN's International Maritime Organization has approved the world's first broad agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions from worldwide ocean shipping and said it hopes to phase them out entirely 'as soon as possible in this century.'

The agency called the agreement, reached by countries on Friday, a first step and promised further action in the future. Some negotiators and observers said it was not yet strong enough to guarantee that shipping, a rapidly growing contributor to global warming, will come into line with the Paris climate agreement. the IMO called it a "pathway" in that direction.

The IMO called on shipping companies to reduce emissions by the year 2050 to 50 percent of their 2008 level, with emissions growth peaking as soon as possible. The organization is a specialized United Nations agency with 173 member states who cooperate on regulations governing the international industry, including setting pollution standards."

John H. Cushman Jr. reports for InsideClimate News April 13, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"The Shipping Industry Is Finally Going To Cut Its Climate Change Emissions. That’S A Big Deal." (Washington Post)