Navigating the Seas of Climate Change: The Asian Shipping Industry Response to Cop26 and the Way Forward

Abstract

The 26^th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the UNFCCC held in Glasgow, Scotland in October–November 2021 saw the emergence of several resolutions to limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius. This also resulted in declaring the 2020s as the decade of Climate action and Support.

The international shipping industry presently accounts for around 3% of the global GHG emissions which is higher than the percentage share of many countries. Given the ‘hard-to-abate’ nature of this industry, it is important to recognize and comply with the regulatory and practical steps laid down by COP 26 and IMO. The Asian shipping industry of China, Singapore and South Korea specifically, must strive to offer solutions to this problem given that they are home to the world’s major shipping container ports as well as major contributors to GHG emissions.

The aim of this paper would be to analyse the response of IMO and the shipping industries of China, Singapore and South Korea in light of the various outcomes of COP26. Thus, this paper addresses the associated legal and regulatory challenges and focus on solutions for the Asian shipping industry to comply with the resolutions of the COP26. The paper concludes with detailed recommendations for the stakeholders in the Asian shipping industry to adopt green-shipping technologies and make amendments to their regulatory framework in order to become conformant to the COP26 outcomes and resolutions.