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Little concrete outcome from last week’s MEPC 

Last week’s 79th gathering of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) at the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) achieved little in terms of showing greater green targets, with pressure now mounting on MEPC 80 in July next year. 

“It cannot be stressed enough how crucial it is that we keep the momentum and deliver an ambitious and fair, revised IMO GHG Strategy at MEPC 80 next year,” said Kitack Lim, the IMO’s secretary-general in his closing remarks in what was a week of minimal headlines. Delegates will be under pressure to come up with a revised GHG reduction strategy next  summer. Likewise, proposals to incorporate carbon capture within GHG emissions reduction measures were deferred to MEPC 80.

Proposals to ease compliance with CII and EEXI through a range of new correction factors and reference lines were also deferred to July.

The adoption of amendments to MARPOL Annex VI to introduce a Mediterranean Sea SOx Emission Control Area (ECA) from 2025 was the single largest outcome from shipping’s global green meet-up 

Guy Platten, the secretary-general of the International Chamber of Shipping, commented: “The shipping industry urgently needs clear market and regulatory signals to reduce the investment risk currently surrounding alternative energy sources and technologies.”

Ana Laranjeira from the NGO Opportunity Green said:  “This MEPC was in part defined by an increasingly louder call from the most ambitious in the Pacific and Africa. Pacific nations have long led the way in global climate action on shipping, and are joined by voices from Ghana, Kenya, Maldives, Namibia, Sierra Leone, among others, demanding the IMO to keep the 1.5°C alive and to ensure an equitable transition.”

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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