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Maritime Transport: The Sustainability Imperative

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Sustainable Shipping

Abstract

The role of maritime transport in addressing the global sustainability imperative is increasingly recognized. Safe, secure, energy-efficient, affordable, reliable, low-carbon, climate-resilient and rule-based maritime transport systems contribute to achieving an economically efficient, socially equitable and environmentally sound development. However, for this role to effectively materialize, unsustainable maritime transport practices that result in wide-ranging external costs need to be addressed.

In the context of the ongoing implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, there is a renewed opportunity to tap the sustainability potential of the maritime transport sector. Leveraging maritime transport in support of the sustainable development agenda requires that economic, social and environmental sustainability criteria be fully integrated and mainstreamed into relevant maritime transport planning processes, policies and investment decisions.

This chapter highlights key issues lying at the interface of maritime transport and sustainable development while emphasizing the role of the sector as a catalyst of a development path that promotes people, prosperity, environment and effective and relevant partnerships.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda.

  2. 2.

    See http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php.

  3. 3.

    See https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs.

  4. 4.

    See http://unfccc.int/focus/items/10240.php.

  5. 5.

    See http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html.

  6. 6.

    See https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/rio20.html.

  7. 7.

    See http://unctad.org/en/Pages/Meetings/UNCTAD-Conferences.aspx.

  8. 8.

    See https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sids2014.

  9. 9.

    See http://www.lldc2conference.org.

  10. 10.

    See http://unctad.org/meetings/en/SessionalDocuments/ares69d213_en.pdf.

  11. 11.

    See http://unctad.org/TLB.

  12. 12.

    See also http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DTL/TTL/Infrastructure-and-Services/Sustainable-Transport.aspx and http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DTL/TTL/Infrastructure-and-Services/SFTF-Toolkit.aspx.

  13. 13.

    For additional information on UNCTAD’s work on Maritime Transport and Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, see also http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DTL/TTL/Legal/Climate-Change-and-Maritime-Transport.aspx.

  14. 14.

    For additional information see the proceedings of UNCTAD’s “Ad Hoc Expert Meeting on Measuring Shipping Connectivity and Performance: The Need for Statistics and Data”. 15 May 2017 http://unctad.org/en/pages/MeetingDetails.aspx?meetingid=1364.

  15. 15.

    See http://www.portopia.eu.

  16. 16.

    See https://www.pianc.org.

  17. 17.

    See relevant work by UN-Oceans. http://www.unoceans.org/activities/en.

  18. 18.

    See http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/PollutionPrevention/AirPollution/Pages/Air-Pollution.aspx.

  19. 19.

    See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/sources/maritime.htm.

  20. 20.

    See http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/01-2016-MTCC-.aspx (accessed on 28 April 2018).

  21. 21.

    For additional information, see http://unfccc.int/methods/emissions_from_intl_transport/items/1057.php (accessed 28 April 2018).

  22. 22.

    See http://www.imo.org/en/mediacentre/pressbriefings/pages/06ghginitialstrategy.aspx.

  23. 23.

    For additional information about the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on transport, including coastal transport infrastructure, see, for example, relevant documentation about UNCTAD’s work carried out in the field and available for downloading at http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DTL/TTL/Legal/Climate-Change-and-Maritime-Transport.aspx (accessed 7 December 2018).

  24. 24.

    See http://archive.iwlearn.net/globallast.imo.org (accessed 7 December 2018).

  25. 25.

    See https://www.thegef.org/project/building-partnerships-assist-developing-countries-minimize-impacts-aquatic-biofouling (accessed 7 December 2018).

  26. 26.

    See http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/21-BWM-EIF.aspx (accessed 7 December 2018).

  27. 27.

    See http://www.iopcfunds.org/about-us (accessed 7 December).

  28. 28.

    See http://cleanairasia.org (accessed 7 December 2018).

  29. 29.

    See https://medium.com/wagovernor/leading-in-the-maritime-sector-washington-launches-maritime-blue-2050-initiative-d54f7d5730cc (accessed 7 December 2018).

  30. 30.

    See https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/singapore-maritime-week-2018-singapore-shares-its-collaboration-initiatives-to-promote.

  31. 31.

    See https://www.bsr.org/collaboration/groups/clean-cargo-working-group.

  32. 32.

    See http://wpci.iaphworldports.org.

  33. 33.

    See http://wpci.iaphworldports.org/iaphtoolbox.

  34. 34.

    See http://www.ssi2040.org.

  35. 35.

    See https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/tag/eco-ships.

  36. 36.

    See https://www.sea-technology.com/news/archives/2015/env_monitoring/env_monitoring0715.php.

  37. 37.

    See https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/2017-06-differentiated-port-infrastructure-charges-exec-summary.pdf.

  38. 38.

    See http://glomeep.imo.org/global-industry-alliance-gia.

  39. 39.

    See https://www.carbonpricingleadership.org/news/2017/10/12/industry-led-task-force-pushes-for-decarbonization-of-maritime-industry.

  40. 40.

    See, for example, http://www.greenport.com/news101/europe. See also http://www.greenport.com/congressamerica,

  41. 41.

    See http://www.bureauveritas.com/home/about-us/our-business/commodities/news-and-media/oil-and-gas-news/update-hong-kong-sulphur-regulations-incentive-scheme?presentationtemplate=bv_master_v2/news_full_story_presentation_news_v2.

  42. 42.

    See https://www.governmenteuropa.eu/green-future-sustainable-shipping/85728/.

  43. 43.

    See https://unctad.org/en/PublicationChapters/tc2015d1rev1_S02_P06.pdf.

  44. 44.

    See http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DTL/TTL/Infrastructure-and-Services/SFTF-Toolkit.aspx.

  45. 45.

    See https://unctadsftportal.org/.

  46. 46.

    See https://sidsport-climateadapt.unctad.org/.

Abbreviations

ASD:

Agenda for Sustainable Development

BIMCO:

Baltic and International Maritime Council

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

COP:

Conference of the Parties [of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]

DME:

Dimethyl ether

DOALOS:

Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea

EU:

European Union

IACS:

International Association of Classification Societies

IAPH:

International Association of Ports and Harbors

ICS:

International Chamber of Shipping

INTERTANKO:

International Association of Independent Tanker Owners

ITOPF:

International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation

LNG:

Liquefied natural gas

LPG:

Liquefied petroleum gas

MEPC:

IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee

NDCs:

Nationally determined contributions

P&I Clubs:

Protection and Indemnity Clubs

SDGs:

Sustainable development goals

TEU:

Twenty-foot equivalent unit

UNCTAD:

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNFCCC:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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Acknowledgment

The views represented in this chapter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the UNCTAD secretariat.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Trade Logistics Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD, Geneva, Switzerland

    Hassiba Benamara, Jan Hoffmann & Frida Youssef

Authors
  1. Hassiba Benamara
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  2. Jan Hoffmann
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  3. Frida Youssef
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Correspondence to Hassiba Benamara .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Harilaos N. Psaraftis

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Benamara, H., Hoffmann, J., Youssef, F. (2019). Maritime Transport: The Sustainability Imperative. In: Psaraftis, H. (eds) Sustainable Shipping. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04330-8_1

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