A delegation from the Worldwide Yachting Association confusingly still called MYBA has been involved in senior-level talks, recently, over potential implications for owners and operators of large yachts involved with the EU’s intended Green House Gas Reduction Commitment for yachts.
Held in Brussels on the 19th April and hosted by a senior representative fromthe EU, the meeting was attended by a panel of three MYBA technical experts, along with Jasper Faber from CE Delft the Association’s environmental consultants.
The outcome of a carbon emissions policy for large recreational and charter vessels is an important issue and why MYBA were keen to voice concerns over a number of issues.
The visiting delegation stressed the point that on a practical level, the issue of administering and monitoring a policy for yacht operators and crew (when finally decided upon) needs to be kept to realistically low and manageable levels, if it is to be universally successful.
A stakeholder consultation document submitted by MYBA prior to the meeting, set out a number of constructive points amongst which included the view that yachts should be included in an agreement on carbon emissions, but there should be no distinction between commercially and privately registered yachts, because the same type of yacht, with the same emissions, can be registered either way.
At the meeting the EU Commission confirmed support of an international regulation of maritime green house gas / carbon emissions through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Yet due to obstacles remaining in ongoing IMO proposals – and should nothing transpire in time – the EU are committed to finding their own proposal and mandated to present such a policy to the Commission and European Parliament for debate during 2013/14. This could lead to a decision in 2014, with the potential to come into force by 2017/18.