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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Clean Shipping Act of 2023. This legislation aims to reduce harmful emissions from ocean going vessels and improve air quality for the nearly 40 percent of Americans who live within 3 miles of a port.

Globally, maritime shipping is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, emitting an estimated 1 billion tons of GHG emissions per year and roughly 3 percent of total anthropogenic global-warming carbon-dioxide emissions. According to the International Maritime Organization, global shipping emissions could more than double between 2018 and 2050.

That is why the United States signed two shipping declarations at COP26 to call for zero-emission fuels on international commercial vessels by 2030 and the establishment of zero-emission shipping routes by the middle of the 2020 decade.

This legislation would set a path to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from all oceangoing vessels that do business with the United States.

The Clean Shipping Act will help reduce emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement and keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, protect air quality and public health for near-port communities, reduce climate pollution emissions from large marine vessels that call on U.S. ports, and ensure that the global maritime sector reduces, while providing the EPA with the flexibility needed to ensure smooth implementation.

The bill would direct the EPA to set progressively tighter carbon intensity standards for fuels used by ships consistent with a 1.5 deg.C decarbonization pathway, and to eliminate in-port ship emissions by 2030 for all ships at-berth or at-anchor in U.S. ports.

Importantly, this legislation is supported by global industry leaders and environmental advocates and will ensure that the global maritime sector reducesemissions consistent with the Paris Agreement, while providing the EPA with the flexibility needed to ensure smooth implementation.

More than 90 percent of global trade is transported by oceangoing vessels, which produce an estimated 3 percent of global anthropogenic emissions, yet these emissions are unregulated in the United States.

The International Maritime Organization's Intersessional Working Group on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships plans to meet at the end of the month.

This bill would send a strong signal of our commitment to our international partners, empower the EPA to set standards to reduce harmful pollution in accordance with our national and international climate goals, provide certainty to the global shipping industry, and catalyze research and development to transition oceangoing vessels that rely on diesel engines.

This bill enjoys the support of environmentalists and industry stakeholders alike who recognize the urgent need to reduce emissions from the shipping sector.

I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Robert Garcia and Nanette Barragan for championing this bill in the House.

I Look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Clean Shipping Act as quickly as possible.

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