Parcel - February 2008 - (Page 15) use of cleaner fuels for marine shipments, and the EPA’s SmartWay Transport program is funding new technologies to make trucks more fuel efficient and to help government organizations and companies purchase hybrid and biodiesel vehicles. Environmental groups, such as Friends of the Earth, are lobbying state governments to more closely regulate shipping emissions. Regulating an international process such as shipping is a tricky thing. It’s fairly straightforward to regulate emissions for trucks within one country’s borders, but regulating shipping emissions between countries is nearly impossible — essentially, if one country does it, the rest will have to follow, which means that any country to propose a crackdown on emissions draws immediate criticism for “unilateral” action that affects an international industry. In the US, California drew such criticism for attempting to require ships coming within 24 miles of its coast to use cleaner, low-sulfur fuels. Although federal courts ruled that the state’s proposed requirement preempted the federal Clean Air Act and thus couldn’t stand, many believe that it’s only a matter of time before various other ports attempt similar regulations. The California petition was the first to invoke the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court earlier in the beginning of 2007 in Massachusetts vs. EPA, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and most believe it won’t be the last. Still, an international agreement is likely not far off. In April 2007, the EU Commission began drafting legislation addressing shipping industry emissions by including the sector in Europe’s carbon dioxide cap-and-trade system, which was instituted shortly after the EU member countries signed the Kyoto Protocol. The Commission said the legislation would be completed and sent out for a vote by the end of 2007. An EU directive ratified in December 2005 stipulates that EU ships must use fuel with .1 percent of sulfur or less by 2010. However, as of late 2007, maritime emissions, which are amongst the largest contributors to shipping-rewww.PARCELindustry.com lated pollution and health problems, still do not fall under the Kyoto protocol. With the global shipping market projected to triple by 2020 and an increasing number of shipping emissions regulations on the horizon, the time is right for shippers to take a hard look at the environmental and health impacts of their business and how best to mitigate them. Jason Sperling is the founder and CEO of ShipGreen. ShipGreen, the first offset company to focus solely on shipping emissions, allows online retailers to add software to their websites that enables online shoppers to easily offset the emissions caused by their order shipments. For more information, please visit www.shipgreen.net, call 310-658-9374 or email Jason at jason@shipgreen.net. ■ February 2008 15 http://www.PARCELindustry.com
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