IMO has announced that the 8 th Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gases (ISWG-GHG) held virtually 24-28 May 2021. The Working Group will be sending a comprehensive set of guidelines for debate at the virtual meeting of the 76th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC76) on 10-17 June.
More details on the approved measure can be found here:
https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/ISWG-GHG-8.aspx
However, the measures were not unanimously approved. The US was one of a handful of members states to reject portions of the the current draft. The IMO Members opposed to the current measures worry that the proposal, if adopted as is, could result in dramatic rise in CO2 by 2030. More than 2 dozen delegations are now pushing for tougher levels contained in the goals of the Paris Agreement.
For 2 years now, member states have been in negotiations on how to reach the short-term global measures to ensure that the shipping sector can reach the IMO’s initial GHG target for 2030, a 40% reduction carbon intensity from the sector worldwide based on 2008 levels.
The US Department of State in conjunction with the US Coast Guard will be holding a public meeting on June 3rd (via teleconference) in preparation for its participation in MEPC76.
PortVision50 will be attending the session with a full report on Agenda Item 7 to follow.
portvision50.org 