The Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gases (ISWG-GHG) wrapped up at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Friday. No final agreement was reached on a draft proposal.
The IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting will begin on June 10 with fierce debate likely on the level of ambition for shipping’s greenhouse gas targets for the remainder of the decade.
It has emerged that 27 nations refused to vote for last week’s package of GHG cuts, including the United States, Pacific Island nations, and many European states. The 27 nations who refused to sign up are demanding to move carbon intensity targets up in ambition.
Since 2019, governments have been negotiating a package of short-term global policies to put in place in order to ensure the shipping industry achieves at least the bare minimum 2030 targets of the IMO’s Initial Greenhouse Gas Strategy, notably at least 40% reduction in the global shipping fleet’s carbon intensity from a 2008 baseline.
