IMO Working Group Advances Plan to Cut Shipping Emissions

Later this month, countries will convene in London for the 80th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt a new greenhouse gas strategy for international shipping aligned with the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Emissions from international shipping are significant and currently rising – projected to increase as much as 130 percent from 2008 levels by 2050. The United States has proposed the inclusion of a more ambitious goal – specifically, zero emissions from international shipping no later than 2050 – in the Revised Strategy to be considered later this month. The United States has also supported the adoption of interim goals, such as reducing total annual greenhouse gas emissions from the sector by at least 37 percent by 2030. 
 
A number of technical and cooperative milestones must be achieved to advance interim goals, including further development of a goal-based fuel/energy standard as the technical element mandating phased reductions in the GHG intensity of marine fuels. The latest IMO working group session had adopted a work plan on the concrete way forward to make progress with candidate mid- and long-term measures, including measures to incentivize the move away from fossil fuels to low- and zero-carbon fuels to achieve decarbonization of international shipping.
 
For more information on the International Maritime Organization’s Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships, visit here.