HAVING ADOPTED the Protocol of 1997 to amend the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified
by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (the 1997 Protocol),
RECOGNIZING that CO2 emissions, being greenhouse
gases, have an adverse effect on the environment,
RECOGNIZING FURTHER that Annex
VI of MARPOL 73/78 does not address CO2 emissions
from ships,
NOTING that parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have recognized the adverse effects of
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and that these gases originating
from international shipping and aviation contribute to the global
inventory of emissions,
NOTING FURTHER that the UNFCCC has recognized that the climate
system should be protected for the benefit of present and future generations
of mankind; that the global nature of climate change calls for the
widest possible co-operation by all countries world-wide; and that
the UNFCCC obliges parties to anticipate, prevent or minimize the
causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects,
1. INVITES the Secretary-General of the Organization
to cooperate with the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC in the exchange
of information on the issue of emissions of greenhouse gases;
2. INVITES the Organization, in cooperation with
the UNFCCC, to undertake a study of CO2 emissions from
ships for the purpose of establishing the amount and relative percentage
of CO2 emissions from ships as part of the global inventory
of CO2 emissions. The study should estimate emissions for
the most recent year where they may be reasonably estimated and should
also address how shipboard emissions and their relative percentage
contribution to the global inventory may change in future years, in
light of reductions to be made in other sectors as well as other trends
that may be reasonably anticipated through sound scientific analysis;
3. INVITES FURTHER the Marine Environment Protection
Committee to consider what CO2 reduction strategies may
be feasible in light of the relationship between CO2 and
other atmospheric and marine pollutants, especially NOx since NOx
emissions may exhibit an inverse relationship to CO2 reduction;
and
4. URGES Member States of the Organization to
participate in the study on CO2 emissions referred to above
and propose any appropriate strategies to the Marine Environment Protection
Committee.