The Republic of Korea and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have signed an agreement to establish a training programme to support developing States to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping.
IMO said in a statement that this deal will facilitate the implementation of candidate measures to be adopted by IMO and the development of national action plans to reduce GHG emissions from the shipping and ports sectors.
"The Sustainable Maritime Transport Training Programme (GHG-SMART) will focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It will help them to develop their capacity to achieve the goals set out in the Initial IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships," it said.
The IMO strategy envisages reducing total annual GHG emissions from ships by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008, meaning a reduction in carbon intensity for individual ships and a move to new technologies and low/zero-carbon fuels.
A number of specific measures are under consideration to achieve ambitious targets.
US$2.5 million plan
IMO noted that the strategy recognizes that there are potential barriers to achieving the targets and highlights the need for supportive measures, including capacity building, technical cooperation, technology transfer and research and development (R&D), particularly in developing countries.
"The four-year GHG-SMART programme will, therefore, support States (specifically, SIDS and LDCs) to address gaps in technologies and policies, by building knowledge and capacity in those countries to identify ways to effectively implement measures contained in the IMO Strategy," it said.
IMO-GHG emission reductions efforts
The US$2.5 million agreement was signed by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Seong-Hyeok Moon. The sum was donated by the Republic of Korea.
"If we are to achieve the goals in the initial IMO strategy, then we must ensure that no country is left behind in the transition to carbon-neutral shipping. IMO continues to lead the way with the portfolio of continuously expanding technical cooperation and capacity building projects. This training Programme will greatly enhance the implementation of the Initial IMO GHG Strategy, especially when it comes to building knowledge and capacity in SIDS and LDCs," Lim said.
IMO said the Programme will be strategically linked to the ongoing and proposed major projects implemented by IMO to achieve GHG emissions reduction. These include the Global MTTC Network project, the Maritime Technologies Cooperation Centres and GreenVoyage2050 Project.