IMO-UNEP-Norway Innovation Forum 2022

IMO-UNEP-Norway Innovation Forum 2022

Opening address by IMO Secretary-General Mr. Kitack Lim

Welcome, greet participants and thank Norway and UNEP

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, depending on where you are, since today we have almost two thousand people connected from all over the world, to attend this important event.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Innovation Forum 2022, the second to be jointly organized by IMO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the support of the Government of Norway.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency, Ambassador. Wegger Strømmen, and express my appreciation to the Government of Norway for the generosity and continuous support of IMO’s projects and in particular for this forum.

As one of the biggest donors to IMO’s Major Projects, Norway continuously displays its full commitment to the progress of green shipping and the blue economy.

I also wish to thank UNEP for its cooperation with IMO. Due to other commitments, my good friend, and the Executive Director of UNEP Ms. Inger Andersen, cannot be with us today, but I commend her and her organization for their collaboration with IMO which is resulting in important initiatives that are enormously beneficial to the international maritime community.

The collaboration also showcases the UN family is acting together to further to tackle climate change and progress in decarbonization of industries among other important matters and I am looking forward to further cooperation and exchange in these areas. 

This year the Innovation Forum is linked to the IMO World Maritime Day theme 2022 "New Technologies for Greener Shipping": it reflects the need to support a green transition of the maritime sector into a sustainable future, while leaving no one behind.

Its aim is to convey that theme and highlight the importance of both a sustainable maritime sector and the need to build back better and greener in a post pandemic world.

The IMO-UNEP-Norway Innovation Forum continues IMO's efforts to bring together international policy makers, maritime, climate change and environmental administrations, technology developers and maritime industry, ports and finance experts to catalyse collaboration and innovation for climate action in the maritime sector.

In keeping with our agreed strategy, we must continue this voyage together towards the preservation of the environment by accelerating decarbonisation of the maritime sector.

Two key words to achieve this are 'innovation' and 'inclusivity'.

Innovation is fundamental to a successful energy transition of the maritime industry. It requires new technologies, renewable alternative fuels and infrastructure to support low- and zero-carbon shipping and new financial solutions to support all these.

We also need innovative ecosystems, created through research and development partnerships in particular involving the private sector. We need all hands-on-deck to ensure the success of these initiatives.

This needs to be done in the most inclusive way possible: we will only succeed by journeying together, developing countries, in particular Least Developed countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) must be on board the energy transition as we address capacity-building, technology and infrastructure needs.

This is a novel forum to promote further cooperation, exchange best practices and learn from other sectors where a similar transition has taken place on the global scale.

Over the next two days, you will hear from prominent speakers and experts about emerging innovation models, financial solutions, how lessons are shared and how this transition has been supported in other sectors through an inclusive innovation journey. 

The Human Element – in particular the safety and health of the maritime workforce and the promotion of diversity and gender parity – will be also discussed.

I thank all the eminent speakers and panellists joining us today. I thank you for your commitment in sharing your knowledge and views with such a global audience.

I also thank all the participants today for your interest. I am confident that with a collaborative spirit and increased and inclusive partnership, we will find solutions to the issues that confront us. IMO stands ready to further support this decarbonization journey and to promote inclusive innovation, leaving no one behind.

I thank, once again, UNEP and the Government of Norway for their cooperation.

I am sure that you are going to enjoy fruitful, interesting and productive discussions and presentations. my best wishes to you in advance for a Happy World Maritime Day – which we are celebrating tomorrow.

Thank you.