Brussels, 18 November 2020
On the 18th of November, IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has approved the draft new mandatory regulations to cut the carbon intensity of existing ships, building on current mandatory energy efficiency requirements to further reduce GHG emissions from shipping.
The draft amendments to the MARPOL convention would require ships to combine a technical and an operational approach to reduce their carbon intensity. This is in line with the ambition of the Initial IMO GHG Strategy, which aims to reduce carbon intensity of international shipping with 40% by 2030, compared to 2008. The MEPC also agreed on the terms of reference for assessing the possible impacts on States, paying particular attention to the needs of developing countries.
The draft amendments were developed by the seventh session of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 7), and will now be put forward for formal adoption at MEPC 76 session, to be held during 2021.
The progress in developing the short-term measures follows the timeline as set out in the initial IMO GHG strategy. The strategy proposed that short-term measures should be those measures finalized and agreed by the Committee between 2018 and 2023.