Morningside Campus Access and Status Updates

Current Access Level “I” – ID Only: CUID holders and approved guests only

News

Explore our expert insights and analysis in leading energy and climate news stories.

Energy Explained

Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.

Podcasts

Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.

Events

Find out more about our upcoming and past events.

Climate Change

Global Energy Dialogue Report: Sulfur Regulations on the High Seas

Reports by Antoine Halff • April 21, 2016

Download the Report [PDF]

By the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) reckoning, some 5.5 million barrels of oil — 6% of world demand — get burned daily as bunker fuel on the high seas. Those bunkers are the world’s last big sink for high sulfur residual fuel oil (HSFO), the “bottom of the barrel,” as air-emission rules for ships have to date remained relatively loose. Tighter sulfur regulations may soon change that, with far-reaching impacts for the shipping industry, energy markets and air emissions from ships.

On February 8, 2016, the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA, in partnership with Axelrod Energy Projects and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), hosted a roundtable with Dr. Edmund Hughes, head of air pollution and energy efficiency at the IMO, to discuss the new rules. During the discussion Dr. Hughes said that the IMO may decide by October 2016 – sooner than a previously set deadline of end-2018 — whether to maintain a January 2020 target date for implementation of the new standard, or postpone it by up to five years. Participants discussed the various paths to compliance with the rules and the challenge of enforcement on the high seas. This Dialogue Report report provides a summary of the roundtable discussion.

For more information

Slow Steaming to 2020:  Innovation and Inertia in Marine Transport and Fuels

Global Energy Dialogue: The Future of Marine Transportation

Our Work

Relevant
Publications

Climate of Contempt

Why is the United States struggling to enact policies to reduce carbon emissions? Conventional wisdom holds that the wealthy and powerful are to blame, as the oligarchs and corporations that wield disproportionate sway over politicians prioritize their short-term financial interests over the climate’s long-term health.

Books by David Spence • September 11, 2024
Purchase Book
Climate of Contempt
See All Work
Climate Change

Global Energy Dialogue Report: Sulfur Regulations on the High Seas

Reports by Antoine Halff • April 21, 2016