ANYONE breathing a sigh of relief after the somewhat lacklustre efforts of climate change protesters this week has missed the point. This was never a crisis to be averted or a simple question of polishing the industry’s PR machine.
Hanging a bed sheet outside the Chamber of Shipping offices may not have been in the same league as the recent direct action witnessed by the aviation sector, but have no doubt, this will come if the industry is considered to be stalling.
The fact that the climate change lobby now has the shipping industry in its sights is symptomatic of the wider climate in which the industry now operates.
The new global climate deal due to be settled at the December United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen will not just be focussing on shipping.
Nor will it only be considering the measured thoughts of the industry and the International Maritime Organization.
Perception matters, and it is still the case that the environmental lobby believes shipping has had a free ride since Kyoto.
The complex and very necessary debates being held over market-based instruments, cap and trade or climate levy implementation are vitally important to the future of our industry.
Balancing the future growth of world trade against an essential reduction in greenhouse gases is not a decision to be taken lightly.
It is, however, a decision that needs to be made; and made now, in the harsh glare of public scrutiny and political perceptions, both fair and unfair.
Be warned: the world is watching
