IMO’s meeting focuses on GHG emissions reduction

Nearly 300 delegates from IMO Member States, international NGOs and intergovernmental organizations have gathered at IMO Headquarters in London, for the first meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships, on 26-30 June. The group, which is meeting in a closed session, will provide a report to next week’s session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71).

The working group report will form the basis for further deliberation in relation to the elements set out in the Roadmap, for developing a comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which was agreed at MEPC 70. An initial IMO GHG strategy is set to be adopted at MEPC 72 in spring 2018, including, inter alia, a list of candidate short-, mid- and long term further measures with possible timelines.

Also this week, a new Global Industry Alliance to support Low Carbon Shipping will be launched on Thursday, 29 June, under the auspices of the GloMEEP project, the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-IMO project aimed at supporting the implementation of energy efficiency measures for shipping, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping.