The debate on reducing harmful atmospheric emissions from shipping started in response to a UK government White Paper on port infrastructure has lead to a series of productive meetings on the topic. The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) recently played host to the third roundtable talk in the series. The inaugural UK roundtable meeting took place in March of this year and was organised by Shipping Emissions Abatement and Trading (SEAaT), a cross-industry self-funding group, whose mission is to encourage and facilitate the efficient reduction of harmful atmospheric emissions from shipping.
SEAaT believes collaboration is the key component in any project addressing environmental challenges, which is why it is inviting ports, shipping operators, regulatory bodies and NGOs to combine efforts to find effective solutions to reduce emissions.
The purpose of the third roundtable discussion was for participants to finalise an information paper outlining the potential emissions trading solutions discussed at the second meeting that took place during the Cruise & Ferry conference in May. Participants also worked to develop a strategy for presenting this paper to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other industry stakeholders, following the proceedings of the 56th Marine Environmental Protection Committee meeting.