IMO has signed three partnership agreements with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support the preparation of a new global project that targets ship-based emissions.
In a statement, it said further funding goes to existing projects focused on biofouling and marine plastic litter.
The agreements, signed by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and His Excellency Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will see US$509,000 going to the three environmental initiatives.
"IMO is committed to a global approach to environmental protection, with capacity building in developing countries to ensure that no Member State is left behind on this important journey. Lowering emissions, reducing marine litter and tackling invasive aquatic species are vital to preserving our oceans. I am very pleased that these agreements will go towards IMO projects to help reduce the impact of shipping on our oceans. They demonstrate our continued commitment to protecting our environment," said Secretary-General Lim.
"We know that it is technological innovation and the development of alternative future fuels that will be key to progress. But it's equally important that we ensure that innovations in these areas are inclusive and coordinated as well ... We need both the North and the South to get connected in this innovation ecosystem and we need all stakeholders to be around the innovation table including stakeholders across the value chain," said Excellency Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser.
Emission reduction
Under the first agreement, around US$400,000 will be used to fund a 12-month preparatory phase of a new long-term IMO CARES (Coordinated Actions to Reduce Emissions from Shipping) initiative.
The Project aims to accelerate demonstration of green technologies and their deployment globally in a manner that facilitates blue economic growth in developing regions. The preparatory Project will lead to the design of IMO CARES Programme and will be executed by IMO's Department of Partnerships and Projects (DPP).
"IMO is committed to long-term technology cooperation and capacity building programmes focussed on needs of developing countries that will support the IMO Initial GHG strategy, the IMO resolution on technology transfer and capacity building as well as the resolution on cooperation between ports and shipping to reduce GHG emissions," said Mr. Jose Matheickal, DPP Chief.
He said that the IMO CARES Project will build on and complement other ongoing work by IMO and connects this work to various R&D and innovation initiatives around the world. This work includes Green Voyage 2050, GHG-SMART Project, the Blue Solutions Project, the FINSMART initiative and the NextGEN initiative.
The Project will continue IMO efforts to increase cooperation and collaboration between all decarbonization initiatives. The IMO-Singapore NextGEN online portal for information sharing on decarbonization projects was launched this week.
The foundation Project will undertake regional and global consultation workshops to design the key elements and framework of the global programme. It will maintain a focus on developing countries in order to facilitate a global decarbonization shift.
The second agreement sets out US$54,500 in funding for IMO's ongoing GloFouling initiative, a GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Project to drive actions to implement the IMO Guidelines for the control and management of ships' biofouling.
The funding will go towards holding an awareness-raising workshop on ships' biofouling in Arab States.