MEPC 81: IMO will continue work on mid-term measures – IMO Secretary-General

“Decarbonizing the maritime industry is a big challenge, but also an opportunity to align the international shipping sector with global commitments on climate change and sustainability,” the IMO Secretary-General said in a speech today.

PHOTO: Street view of International Maritime Organization building in Lambeth, London, England. Getty Images

The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee started its 81st session (MEPC 81) today.

The IMO will also work to develop a more comprehensive lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity assessment framework, the organisation's Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said. This comes after lifecycle analysis guidelines were adopted at MEPC 80 last year.

“The various updated proposals for technical and economic measures and the discussions during last week’s ISWG-GHG 16 clearly demonstrate your commitment to advance the developments of these measures, making sure that IMO delivers on the levels of ambition in the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy," Dominguez said in his opening speech today.

The majority of IMO member states back a flexible GHG fuel standard that is linked to the IMO’s interim GHG reduction targets for 2030 and 2040, University Maritime Advisory Services (UMAS) argues in a new report.

The tools and mechanisms to reach these interim GHG reduction targets are what is known as the IMO's mid-term measures, which are up for discussion at this week's MEPC meeting.

34 member states have suggested combining a GHG fuel standard with a GHG pricing mechanism in the form of a levy, UMAS says.

While member states have yet to agree on GHG pricing, some have proposed starting prices of $20-150/mtCO2-equivalent in submissions to the IMO. Others have suggested a starting price of $30/mtCO2e that will be raised to $100/mtCO2e over time.

The IMO is expected to adopt mid-term measures in March next year. These measures will be more practical follow-ups to the GHG targets it set for 2030 and 2040 in its revised GHG strategy.

By Konica Bhatt

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