Urgent short-term solutions are needed to cut down GHGs by 48% in 11 years in order to meet the Paris Agreements objective, and all sectors need to decarbonize, with maritime transport emitting around 1 billion tons of CO₂ annually, responsible for 2.5% of global greenhouse emissions. 

The principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) looms over the issue of climate change, but the article suggests two clear positions have emerged: 

"1)    National Sovereignty- Powerful countries (Developed countries) dislike changing their national policies to comply with the demands of small developing nations. (In simple words big countries dislike getting advised by small countries or small countries telling big countries what to do) 

2)     Basically, all countries value their national image globally and don’t want to be quoted as a polluting country."