"U.N. Panel Sets Emissions Standards For Cargo Ships"

"New cargo and transport vessels must meet energy efficiency standards and cut carbon pollution, the U.N. agency regulating international shipping decided Friday. The decision came despite opposition from China, India and Brazil.

The new rules from a powerful committee of the International Maritime Organization attack a growing source of greenhouse gases. The policy would also be the first time a measure on climate change applies equally to countries, regardless of whether they are from the industrial or developing world.

About 50,000 cargo ships carry 90 percent of world trade; most of the ships are powered by heavily polluting oil known as bunker fuels. The IMO says shipping was responsible for 2.7 percent of global carbon emissions in 2007, but that would double or even triple by mid-century if no action is taken."

The Associated Press had the story July 15, 2011.