8th Ecosperity Week, Singapore 2022
8th Ecosperity Week, Singapore 2022 – Acceleration action at Scale
Video message for panel session on "Making Waves in Sustainable Shipping"
Ladies and gentlemen, excellencies,
It is a great pleasure to speak to you today.
As we all know, the global community is on a mission to accelerate the energy revolution and decarbonize transport and industries.
It is a mission that transcends geographic borders and industrial sectors, and Ecosperity's belief that "doing good and doing well can, and must, go together" provides a succinct reminder to all of us with responsibility for implementing those dreams.
My own focus is on the maritime industry, which drives the global economy. So, we must work with all stakeholders to find solutions to ensure that the resilience of the supply chain is protected even as the pandemic and current military crisis continue to impact not only shipping and ports, but also seafarers and all maritime personnel.
As we navigate our way through what has already been a turbulent decade, it is clear that shipping is voyaging through an immense transition to meet the demands for sustainable transport, through digitalization, automation, ship design, propulsion technology, and fuels.
We at the International Maritime Organization, as international shipping's global standard-setting authority for safety, security and environmental performance, are constantly enhancing our regulatory framework.
Our goal is to ensure shipping continues to operate safely, securely, cleanly and efficiently and our commitment is to significantly reduce Greenhouse Gas, or GHG, emissions from international shipping and ultimately decarbonize shipping.
To decarbonize a truly global industry, global solutions are needed. IMO regulations are not just commitments – they are legally binding requirements applicable worldwide.
IMO adopted the first mandatory global measures to improve ships' energy efficiency more than a decade ago, in 2011. These have since been strengthened, recognizing the imperative to do more.
IMO's initial GHG strategy was adopted in 2018, with a clear vision to phase out GHG emissions from international shipping as soon as possible this century and by at least 50% by 2050, compared to 2008.
Only last year IMO adopted a list of comprehensive mid-term GHG measures to achieve these ambitious goals, which take effect from November 2022.
Now, it is time to accelerate our actions to set the path for shipping's decarbonization, in line with the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the Glasgow Climate Pact adopted at COP 26 and the most recent IPCC climate reports.
The upgraded IMO Greenhouse Gas Strategy is set to be adopted mid-2023.
The key element of the strategy is an enhanced level of ambition in line with global agreements, to accelerate the reduction of GHG emissions from international shipping towards its decarbonization by the middle of this century.
To make this possible, IMO Member States have already initiated discussions to set a maximum carbon-content for marine fuels and a carbon pricing mechanism to incentivize R&D of low- and zero carbon fuels and the move to these new fuels.
We must also consider the impact of new measures on developing countries, in particular Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries to make sure no one is left behind.
For a just and equitable transition, IMO continues to expand existing initiatives and capacity building projects and enhance cooperation with financial institutions to remove barriers that may impede investments in shipping's energy transition.
The revised GHG Strategy will set the path for the way ahead and I have every confidence that progress will continue to be made at a global level.
The importance of global supply chains has become ever more apparent. The enhancement of digitalization and automation to facilitate global maritime trade is a major policy issue that shipping must take on board in 2022 and beyond.
IMO is working to enable shipping to embrace the digital revolution– while ensuring safety, boosting environmental protection and managing cyber security risks to facilitate trade and sustainable maritime transport.
To summarize, major changes and challenges lie ahead for the maritime sector.
These have considerable repercussions for the maritime workforce, in particular seafarers, which needs to be ready for this evolution. It is imperative that education, training and skills evolve and IMO continues to engage with Member States and industry towards that end.
We must rise to this challenge and create a workforce to operate the green ships of the future safely and securely.
Ladies and gentlemen,
You have set yourselves ambitious targets for this Ecosperity Week as you look at accelerating the energy transition and decarbonizing transport and heavy industry.
I look forward to hearing of the innovations and solutions that will emerge from your discussions.
Shipping is essential to the world and must be at the forefront of change as we strive for a more sustainable and greener maritime future.
Thank you.