Analysis On The Legitimacy Of EU Emissions Trading System For Shipping

Since the Industrial Revolution,human demand and utilization of natural resources have been gradually upgraded,and the economic benefits produced by industrial production,power generation,transportation and other industries have been increasing,and the global economy has been booming at the same time.Emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane from combustion have also increased.Since the 1990 s,the international community has begun to pay close attention to global warming and has formulated the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)and the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions.In order to achieve the emission reduction targets set in the Kyoto Protocol,in 2005,the EU established the world's first emission trading system-the EU Emissions Trading System(EUETS).Due to the specialty of the shipping and aviation sectors,the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol excluded these two sectors,and the EUETS did not include shipping at the beginning of its establishment.However,shipping is recognized as the most cost-effective means of transportation in the world,and 90 of the global trade is carried out by ocean transportation with approximately 90,000 vessels.At the same time,the GHG emissions from shipping are also increasing year by year,and now account for about 2.1% of the total global GHG emissions.In March 2011,the European Commission proposed that the environmental impact of shipping should be and must be improved through technology,with better fuels and operational methods: in general,by 2050,EU shipping GHG emissions should be40% less than what emitted in 2005(or 50% if feasible).In order to achieve this goal,the European Commission proposed in 2013 to include shipping department into the EUETS.In theory,this initiative of the EU can indeed reduce the effect of shipping greenhouse gas emissions.However,this unilateral environmental measure will involve all foreign ships parked at EU ports,and its legality needs to be proved.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the legality of the EUETS for shipping,and to discuss the impact of this mechanism on China and the countermeasures China can adopt.This paper is divided into three chapters,it will introduces and analyzes the background of shipping GHG emissions and the current status of the EUETS.Second chapter analyzes and evaluates the legality of the EUETS for shipping from three perspectives: international environmental law,Jurisdiction,and WTO rules.The third chapter presents a comprehensive assessment about the impacts on China's shipping industry and China-EU trade under the EUETS for shipping,and then propose the corresponding suggestions on how China can cope with possible EUETS for shipping.