Participants at IMO’s MEPC 80 gave themselves a spherical of applause after agreeing a technique that requires transport to realize web zero emissions by 2050. [Photo: IMO]
This week’s assembly of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 80) noticed member states undertake the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.
The technique fell wanting what among the greenest-of-the-green business voices wished, but it surely didn’t fulfill their worst fears.
It consists of an enhanced frequent ambition to succeed in net-zero GHG emissions from worldwide transport near 2050, a dedication to make sure an uptake of different zero and near-zero GHG fuels by 2030, in addition to indicative check-points for 2030 and 2040.
“The adoption of the 2023 IMO Greenhouse Gas Strategy is a monumental development for IMO and opens a new chapter towards maritime decarbonization,” stated IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim. “At the same time, it is not the end goal, it is in many ways a starting point for the work that needs to intensify even more over the years and decades ahead of us. However, with the Revised Strategy that you have now agreed on, we have a clear direction, a common vision, and ambitious targets to guide us to deliver what the world expects from us.”
“Above all, it is particularly meaningful, to have unanimous support from all Member States. In this regard, I believe that we have to pay more attention to support developing countries, in particular SIDS and LDCs, so that no one is left behind,” he added.
WHAT’S IN THE STRATEGY?
The precise textual content of the agreed technique is a heavy-going learn that business analysts can be plowing via for fairly some time (if you wish to be a part of them, there’s a hyperlink on the finish of this submit). Meantime, the IMO Secretariat has issued a summary of its components. Here are just a few key components:
Levels of ambition
1) carbon depth of the ship to say no via additional enchancment of the power effectivity for brand spanking new ships, to be reviewed with the purpose of strengthening the power effectivity design necessities for ships;
2) carbon depth of worldwide transport to say no, to cut back CO2 emissions per transport work, as a median throughout worldwide transport, by at the very least 40% by 2030, in comparison with 2008;
3) uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission applied sciences, fuels and/or power sources to extend uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission applied sciences, fuels and/or power sources to characterize at the very least 5%, striving for 10%, of the power utilized by worldwide transport by 2030; and
4) GHG emissions from worldwide transport to succeed in web zero; to peak GHG emissions from worldwide transport as quickly as doable and to succeed in net-zero GHG emissions by or round, i.e. near 2050, considering totally different nationwide circumstances, while pursuing efforts in the direction of phasing them out as known as for within the Vision in step with the long-term temperature aim set out in Article 2 of the Paris Agreement.
Indicative checkpoints to succeed in net-zero GHG emissions from worldwide transport
1) to cut back the full annual GHG emissions from worldwide transport by at the very least 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030, in comparison with 2008; and
2: to cut back the full annual GHG emissions from worldwide transport by at the very least 70%, striving for 80%, by 2040, in comparison with 2008.
Basket of candidate mid-term GHG discount measures
The 2023 GHG Strategy states {that a} basket of candidate measure(s), delivering on the discount targets, must be developed and finalized comprised of each:
- a technical ingredient, specifically a goal-based marine gasoline normal regulating the phased discount of the marine gasoline’s GHG depth; and
- an financial ingredient, on the idea of a maritime GHG emissions pricing mechanism.
Next steps
The 2023 Strategy units out a timeline in the direction of adoption of the basket of measures and adoption of the up to date 2028 IMO GHG Strategy on discount of GHG emissions from ships:
MEPC 81 (Spring 2024) – Interim report on Comprehensive impression evaluation of the basket of candidate mid-term measures/Finalization of basket of measures
MEPC 82 (Autumn 2024) – Finalized report on Comprehensive impression evaluation of the basket of candidate mid-term measures
MEPC 83 (Spring 2025) – Review of the short-term measure to be accomplished by 1 January 2026
MEPC 84 (Spring 2026) – Approval of measures / Review of the short-term measure (EEXI and CII) to be accomplished by 1 January 2026
Extraordinary one or two-day MEPC (six months after MEPC 83 in Autumn 2025) – Adoption of measures
Target dates:
MEPC 85 (Autumn 2026)
16 months after adoption of measures (2027) – Entry into pressure of measures
MEPC 86 (Summer 2027) – Initiate the overview of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy
MEPC 87 (Spring 2028)
MEPC 88 (Autumn 2028) – Finalization of the overview of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy with a view to adoption of the 2028 IMO Strategy on discount of GHG emissions from ships.
ICS COMMENTS
Some of the primary business feedback on the brand new technique got here from Simon Bennett, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Deputy Secretary General.
“ICS greatly welcomes the ambitious agreement reached by governments at IMO today for shipping to achieve net zero emissions ‘by or around 2050’, in line with the Paris Agreement and the commitment made by the shipping industry at COP 26 in Glasgow back in 2021,” stated. “This historic IMO agreement gives a very strong signal to ship operators and, most importantly, to energy producers who must now urgently supply zero GHG marine fuels in very large quantities if such a rapid transition is to be possible.”
Bennett known as the checkpoints agreed for 2030 and 2040 “particularly ambitious.”
“The industry will do everything possible to achieve these goals including the 70% to 80% absolute reduction of GHG emissions now demanded of the entire global shipping sector by 2040. But this can only be achieved if IMO rapidly agrees to a global levy on ships’ GHG emissions to support a ‘fund and reward’ mechanism, as proposed by the industry. We urgently need to reduce the cost gap between conventional and alternative marine fuels and incentivize the production and uptake of new fuels at the scale now required to meet this accelerated transition. 2040 is less than 17 years away and the availability of zero GHG marine fuels today is virtually zero.”
“It is very positive that a majority of governments now support a levy for shipping involving flat rate contributions by ships per tonne of GHG emitted to an IMO fund to expedite a rapid transition,” Bennett continued. “The ICS ‘fund and reward’ proposal remains firmly on the table as a deliverable solution and will now be subject to a comprehensive impact assessment by UNCTAD to be completed by early next year, so that an economic measure can be adopted in 2025. This will be vital it we are to reach a take-off point by 2030 for the use of new fuels to achieve the extremally ambitious goal which IMO has now set for 2040.”
