International Law-Making: Actors in Shipping and Climate Change (InterAct)

If they could be accounted as a country, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from international maritime transport would not only be one of the top ten world largest emitters, but the fastest in growth, since the sector’s emissions are forecasted to increase between 50% and 250% by 2050 (Smith, S.; O’Keeffe et al. 2014). Moreover, the contribution of shipping to climate change will intensify, as routes in the Arctic become available. In spite of this, and while all the other sectors are reducing their emissions, shipping remains largely unregulated, being the last sector of the economy to contribute to climate change mitigation targets in line with the Paris Agreement. In understanding this anomaly, the literature has looked into different aspects and dynamics of the regulation of shipping (Oberthür 2003, Martinez Romera 2016, Martinez Romera 2017), where a key component has lingered unexplored, namely, the role of different actors in international climate related law-making for the sector. InterAct aims to fill this gap.

InterAct’s main objective will be addressed through the project as a whole, although informed by two sub-projects, which address two convergent objectives:

1. Understanding the role of actors in law-making processes regarding market-based measures and technology and energy transition for international maritime transport. (Sub-project 1)
2. Understanding the role of actors in the regulation of shipping induced climate change in the Arctic (Sub-project 2)