Examination of Witnesses (Question Number
200)
DR TERRY
BARKER AND
DR ALICE
BOWS
18 NOVEMBER 2008
Q200 Joan Walley: We are coming to
the end to this part of our evidence session with yourselves but
I just wonder in view of what you have said and some quite vigorous
shaking of the head a little bit earlier on, if there is anything
finally that you would like to say to the Committee particularly
in respect of the role of the IMO in terms of its co-ordinating
effect internationally?
Dr Barker: I think the shipping
industry and aviation would greatly benefit from a global scheme
to decarbonise these sectors. They would benefit not only in PR
terms; they would benefit in large flows of revenue to these industries
to modernise them and to make them much cleaner and improve their
safety record. In my view, some of the kinds of things that some
of these trade bodies (not the IMO) have been undertaking are
misplaced and they should be seeking ways of improving the social
and corporate responsibility of these sectors.
Dr Bows: All I was going to say
is given the urgency of the climate change challenge that we face,
whatever mechanism is going to make emissions reduce more rapidly
in the short term would be favourable. At the moment, my view
is that ICAO and the IMO have not acted quickly enough in order
to bring about schemes that actually start to reduce emissions,
so if the scheme proposed by Dr Barker is going to reduce emissions
more rapidly than the kind of actions that are currently going
on, I think that has to be welcomed.
Joan Walley: On that call for
action we would like to thank you very much indeed once again
for coming before us this morning.
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