24, Apr 2018 | CJP Team

Carbon dioxide emissions from ships at sea will be controlled for the first time after a deal that was agreed upon following two weeks of discussion in London, the Guardian reported last week. The agreement was orchestrated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO); under it, shipping firms will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050. The agreement is binding for the 170 member nations of the IMO. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol did not include greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and shipping, and have also been left out of attempts to control carbon following that. 80% of the world’s trade uses shipping, which, although it contributes only 2% of the world’s carbon emissions, uses heavy diesel that contains high levels of carbon and would be prohibited for land transport in many countries. Activists said that a reduction of at least 70% would be required to achieve the goals laid out in 2015’s Paris climate agreement, which aims to restrict temperature rise to 2ºC above temperatures prior to the industrial revolution.