Make sure shipping and aviation remain in Paris climate text, European Parliament urges

The European Parliament has taken another swipe at shipping’s emissions. The Paris climate change agreement should not leave out aviation and shipping, two sectors, which the politicians claim if left unregulated, could account for up to 40% of all global emissions by 2050, according to a European Parliament study. MEPs advocate earmarking carbon market revenues as a possible solution for financing climate efforts.

It is vital that aviation and shipping are not left out of the final text on Thursday, said delegation vice-chair Matthias Groote. “They are mentioned in the latest draft, and we want them to remain,” he explained. “We have set ourselves very ambitious targets in the EU. But when we talk about international aviation and shipping, no measures are being envisaged. Paris needs to set a clear mandate, so that we don’t have a situation where some industries are overburdened and others are simply spared any effort.”

This October the European Parliament voted in favour of pushing for huge cuts in shipping emissions.