Strengthening our role at IMO
A new IMarEST working group is focusing on IMO policy and regulations related to greenhouse gases, as Caitriona Hanly explains.
With the shipping industry drive towards lower emissions and decarbonisation to meet challenging IMO 2030 and 2050 targets – ultimately to reduce total annual shipping GHG emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050 compared to 2008 – we established a new IMarEST Shipping Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Policy working group at the end of last year.
It’s timely, given the IMO agreed further measures to cut ship emissions last October.
We want to do all we can to ensure the IMarEST maintains an active role at IMO, contributing scientific and technical evidence to the policy makers in developing the Initial IMO Strategy on the reduction of GHGs, and offering technical input on the effectiveness of measures.
Industry expertise
Comprising experts from our membership in GHG shipping policy who are supporting our involvement at the IMO on agenda items relating to GHG, including at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) and the Intersessional Working Group on GHG (ISWG-GHG), the group has a remit to review papers and submissions to these meetings and related studies, such as the 4th IMO GHG Study.
Members will help put together our comments, responses and positions, as well as develop and support any IMarEST interventions and submissions.
Much of the working group’s initial activity has been in contributing to the latest ISWG-GHG meeting in October. The IMarEST report on the key outcomes from this meeting can be viewed here.
Following on from that session the group continues to support the IMarEST contribution to the Correspondence Group on the Development of Technical Guidelines on Carbon Intensity Reduction.
This group will also review topics relevant to the ongoing discussions at IMO and aims to develop new submissions for future IMO meetings where we can add value. We will be participating as delegates at the IMO symposium on alternative low-carbon and zero-carbon fuels on 9-10 February 2021. The symposium will be livestreamed to the IMO YouTube account.
Find out more
Reports and outcomes from IMO meetings are shared on the technical update pages on imarest.org along with the IMarEST positions.
Members looking for more information on this working group, or wishing to get involved in our work at the IMO and the working groups or Special Interest Groups that support these activities, can express their interest by contacting technical@imarest.org.
Members can also join the Emissions from Shipping SIG on Nexus to network, exchange information and discuss legislative and technical developments relating to GHG shipping policy.
Caitriona Hanly is Technical Manager at the IMarEST.