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Floor Speech
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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Clean Shipping Act of 2025. This bill aims to reduce harmful emissions from oceangoing vessels and improve air quality for the nearly 40 percent of Americans that 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 b the middle of the 2020 decade.
This bill would establish a pathway to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from all oceangoing vessels that do business with the United States. It would protect air quality and public health in near-port communities, reduce climate pollution from large marine vessels calling on U.S. ports, and ensure the global maritime sector cuts emissions-- all while giving the EPA the flexibility needed for 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 want to thank my colleagues, especially Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Robert Garcia, for reintroducing this bill with me. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Clean Shipping Act of 2025 as quickly as possible. ______
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