Following the Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has pledged to continue its mission to reduce the industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
According to the IMO, continuing efforts will include the development of a global data collection for ship’s fuel consumption. This will be on the agenda for discussion at the next IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in April 2016. Also the IMO is to give further consideration of a total-sector reduction target for GHG emissions from international shipping as proposed by the Marshall Islands in 2015, and continued investigation of additional mechanisms for ships to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Technical cooperation and capacity building to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of new regulations worldwide, in addition to activities to promote the transfer of technology, will be further developed say the IMO.
IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu stated:“The Paris Agreement represents remarkable progress and builds on the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which itself was a significant step forward. The absence of any specific mention of shipping in the final text will in no way diminish the strong commitment of IMO as the regulator of the shipping industry to continue work to address GHG emissions from ships engaged in international trade.”
He continued: “I now encourage Governments to bring the spirit of the Paris Agreement to IMO and come forward with new, creative proposals and to approach them in a constructive and cooperative manner.”
