Shipping companies that operate in the Arctic may be required to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions they produce, depending on how climate-change talks go in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The International Marine Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for improving maritime safety and environmental impacts, is seeking a mandate at the Copenhagen summit to regulate greenhouse gases generated by ships.

The issue of curbing pollution from marine vessels is becoming increasingly important in Arctic waterways, which in recent years have been seeing more traffic from commercial freight vessels, cruise ships, icebreakers and other boats.

The organization estimates that there are about 60,000 ships operating worldwide, generating 2.7 per cent of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions, said Karin Sjolin-Frudd, an IMO senior adviser.

Sjolin-Frudd told CBC News in Copenhagen that those emissions could double or triple by 2050 if nothing is done about it.

"So what we have to look at is that yes, we do contribute, and we take the responsibility for looking at what we can do within the IMO and the shipping industry to actually combat this," she said.

Sjolin-Frudd said the goal is to require ships to be more energy efficient as well as to improve navigation.

Vessels that exceed an emissions limit would have to pay, under a global emissions-trading type of system. There would also be an international fund to help developing nations comply with the IMO's standards.

Such standards, which would be enforced by the IMO, should be made mandatory for the entire shipping industry, said Christian Breinholt, deputy director of the Danish Maritime Authority.

"This globalized industry can move from flag to flag immediately, and any regulation which does not apply regardless of flag is worth absolutely nothing," he said.

Breinholt said he hopes countries attending the Copenhagen summit will give the IMO a mandate to continue its work and bring in mandatory greenhouse-gas regulations.