Marshall Islands, a nation at the heart of global shipping, fights for climate justice

Photo: Thousands of ships are registered in Majuro, Marshall Islands. Shutterstock. Retrieved from theconversation.com

As home to the world’s third-largest ship registry, the Marshall Islands is a key player in global shipping, while rising sea levels threaten its low-lying islands. This puts the country in a unique position in negotiations on new shipping emission targets.

Although WAM’s yellow outriggers might not make a dent in greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s cargo ships, these little vessels are a local counterpoint to the Pacific state’s climate diplomacy.

For a low-lying atoll state like the Marshall Islands, climate change is a matter of life and death. Exceeding 1.5℃ of warming will likely trigger tipping points that would raise sea levels as ice caps melt. This would inundate the Marshall Islands.

To “keep 1.5 alive”, the Marshall Islands and other Pacific states are calling for hard “interim targets” to reduce shipping emissions by 37% by 2030 and 96% by 2040. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have proposed similar targets.