Countdown to MEPC 80: IMO Secretary General urges working group members to take decisive action

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Secretary General Kitack Lim has urged members of the Intersessional Working Group to be “bold and ambitious” while working on the revision of greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy this week.

PHOTO: IMO headquarters in London, UK. Getty Images

The Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships will hold meeting this week in London ahead of the 80th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80) meeting next week. The maritime regulator is expected to revise its GHG emission targets for shipping during MEPC 80.

“It is now time to work together on increasing the level of ambition for 2050 and establish the intermediate check points by 2030 and 2040 that will pave the way to meet the revised vision whilst duly considering the impact and needs of developing States,” Lim said in his opening remarks on Monday.

The submissions from the working group will form the basis for the IMO’s revised GHG strategy along with “assessment and selection of measures, both technical and economic elements,” he said.

In a proposal made to the IMO, European Union member states and the European Commission have endorsed phasing out GHG emissions from international shipping “by no later than 2050”.

The US has also proposed a net zero emissions goal by 2050.

“Do not wait for the last minute at MEPC to make the compromises and find the solutions, a positive outcome from this group is key to a success next week, and for the future work of this Organization,” Lim said, adding, “the stakes are high and the expectations even higher.”

By Shilpa Sharma

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