The global shipping and aviation industries have been left out from the draft Paris climate agreement published on Wednesday afternoon.
The two sectors account for 5 percent of the global emissions and their exclusion from the deal might compromise the 2 degree C target.
The two sectors have been included in the previous version of the deal draft, however the latest version has omitted the paragraph.
Danish shipping and energy conglomerate Maersk voiced disappointment by the decision.
“Shipping is out of the latest draft. We are disappointed and hope it will be reintroduced before COP21 end,” Jo hn Kornerup Bang, Head of Positioning & Strategic Risk Management, Group Sustainability at A.P. Møller – Mærsk Group commented.
Matthias Groote, member of the European Parliament said: “ Shipping and aviation have disappeared from the COP21 draft. We cannot reach the two degree target without including the highest emitters!”
The dropping of international aviation and shipping emissions from the draft Paris climate agreement has fatally undermined the prospects of keeping global warming below 2°C, green NGOs Seas At Risk and Transport & Environment (T&E) have said.
As their emissions uniquely fall outside national reduction targets, they require an explicit reference in the agreement, the NGOs claim.
“If treated as countries, global aviation and shipping would both make the list of top 10 emitters. In recent years their emissions have grown twice as fast as the those of the global economy – an 80% rise in CO2 output from aviation and shipping between 1990 and 2010, versus 40% growth in CO2 emissions from global economic activity – and they are projected to grow by up to 270% in 2050,” they said in a release.
According to T&E, aviation accounts for about 5% of global warming, and CO2 from shipping is about 3% of the global total.
Both sectors are among the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gases at a global level and could be responsible for 39% of world CO2 emissions in 2050 if left unregulated, according to a scientific study published last month by the European Parliament.
World Maritime News Staff