The first national workshop under the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) Project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, has been held in Georgia.
The GloMEEP project aims to build understanding and knowledge of technical and operational energy-efficiency measures to lead maritime transport into a low-carbon future. The inaugural workshop focused on raising awareness of Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), in particular the energy-efficiency regulations in Chapter 4. Barriers to implementation were identified and discussed in order to draw up plans to tackle them.
Following the workshop, Georgia’s GloMEEP National Task Force held its first meeting (18 December) and discussed its National Work Plan for 2016. This plan sets out the activities that Georgia will be undertaking under GloMEEP, including: legal, policy and institutional reforms, such as developing the country’s energy policy for the maritime sector; capacity-building and awareness raising, through workshops; and the development of public-private partnerships to catalyse maritime sector energy-efficiency innovation, R&D and technology deployment, by engaging with private-sector companies in the country to run workshops or other activities.
GloMEEP, a joint project of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO), was formally launched by IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu in September 2015 in Singapore, at the IMO-Singapore Future-Ready Shipping 2015 conference.
