THE International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has agreed to urge the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to adopt tough carbon emission reduction targets by 2050.

ICS will propose that IMO should maintain international shipping CO2 emissions below 2008 levels, reduce CO2 emissions as an average by at least 50 per cent by 2050 and cut shipping's annual CO2 emissions by an agreed percentage by 2050.

The ICS wants the IMO to remain in control of additional measures to address CO2 reduction by ships and to develop a global solution, rather than risk the danger of market distorting measures at national or regional level, said ICS chairman Esben Poulsson.

ICS will suggest that IMO should adopt these objectives as part of the initial IMO CO2 reduction strategy to be agreed in 2018, following the adoption of an "IMO roadmap" at the request of the industry in 2016.

The ICS represents 80 per cent of the world's merchant tonnage, through membership by national shipowners' associations. It is concerned with all regulatory, operational and legal issues.

A major ICS activity is as a consultative body at the United Nations agency with responsibility for the safety of life at sea and the protection of the marine environment, the International Maritime Organisation.