Given that wood exports are impacted by ocean freight rates the following news may have an affect on these in the future.
The European Parliament has voted to extend the EU carbon market to cover international shipping, to establish a maritime decarbonisation fund and to set a mandatory reduction target for the carbon intensity of shipping. Carbon Market Watch welcomes the decision as a strong signal towards the UN shipping body that is failing to take action on carbon pollution from ships.
In a vote this week, members of the European Parliament backed the lead lawmaker Jutta Paulus’ proposal to extend the EU carbon market to cover international shipping. The decision is a response to the lack of progress at the global talks to tackle dangerous carbon pollution at the UN shipping agency International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Wijnand Stoefs, policy officer at Carbon Market Watch in Brussels said, “The Parliament sends a strong message both to the IMO and EU governments that Europe must act now and take the lead in tackling carbon pollution from ships. The global talks are adrift while the climate crisis is not waiting. Bringing shipping under the EU carbon market is one of the objectives of the EU Green Deal anyway, so there is really no reason to postpone this.”
The Parliament also supported Paulus’ proposal to establish an “Ocean Fund” and a binding target to force shipping companies to reduce the carbon intensity of their transport by at least 40% by 2030 compared to the 2018-2019 baseline.
The Ocean Fund would recycle half the revenues from the EU carbon market generated by the shipping sector into supporting decarbonization actions and innovation in the sector itself and the protection of marine environments. This could mobilise between 1.5 and 2.5 billion euros annually for climate action in this sector.
