Malaysia Green Shipping Conference 2023

Malaysia Green Shipping Conference 2023

Thursday, 22 June 2023

Opening of the Conference - Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, IMO

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to address you at the closing of your Green Shipping Conference. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Government of Malaysia for providing a forum for the maritime community to discuss the important subjects surrounding green and sustainable maritime transport.

We are experiencing a time of many global challenges and uncertainties. Nevertheless, the international shipping community continues to work efficiently and effectively to keep global trade flowing, making sure that essential goods are delivered all around the word. Shipping is the backbone of the global economy and, most importantly, vital for economic development and growth as we can see here in Asia.

At the same time, shipping is experiencing an unprecedented transformation. Driven by global efforts to combat climate change and advancements in digitalization and automation, the maritime sector is rapidly adopting the newest technologies while boosting technological development and progress. All maritime stakeholders have to work together to successfully navigate this transition towards a green, efficient and sustainable maritime sector. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the global forum to facilitate these partnerships and collaborations and I am proud of the role the Organization is playing to achieve this ambition. For 75 years, IMO has been the global standard setting body for shipping and ensured that the maritime sector delivers goods safely, securely, efficiently, and sustainably around the world. Throughout those decades, this international regulatory regime has constantly evolved to address lessons learned and respond to new demands from an ever-changing maritime sector. Collaboration is, and has always been, vital for all of IMO’s efforts and successes, so I would like to express my deepest appreciation and thanks to all IMO Member States and maritime stakeholders for their steadfast support for IMO's work.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There is no denying that the entire world has to unite to combat climate change. In the spirit of collaboration, the maritime community is ready to play its part in the global efforts to meet the goals set in the Paris Agreement. However, to achieve this, the maritime community must address the greatest challenge the sector has ever faced - the decarbonization of international shipping.

IMO, and with it the maritime sector, has already made considerable progress in the efforts to reduce our Greenhouse Gas emissions, constantly strengthening our energy efficiency measures over the last 10 years and further strengthened by the adoption of the Initial IMO GHG Strategy in 2018.

But we need to do more to achieve the decarbonization of shipping towards 2050. In just over one week, IMO Member States will come together during MEPC 80 to showcase our global leadership towards decarbonizing shipping by adopting an upgraded IMO Decarbonization Strategy. This revised Strategy contains three vital elements: First, it will comprise an enhanced vision and levels of ambition with concrete reduction targets. Second, it will outline a basket of technical and economic measures, including a timeline for their implementation. The economic measures, which are currently under consideration, will be crucial to close the gap between conventional and alternative fuels. Economic measures will also generate funds to incentivise investment in technology and R&D while addressing any disproportionate negative impacts on developing States. Only with economic measures will we be able to ensure our goal of a just and equitable transition that leaves no one behind. And third, those two elements will be supported by an impact assessment of agreed measures to address their impacts on developing countries, in particular Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). I am confident that IMO Member States will be ambitious and agree to elevate the strategy’s vision and levels of ambition towards 2050. We need an ambitious strategy to provide certainty for stakeholders to invest in shipping and infrastructure and accelerate the development of new fuels.

The impact of IMO's discussions is already noticeable. Globally, I see a strong willingness and commitment to work in partnership with all maritime stakeholders to make a push towards the energy transition in shipping. There are increasing numbers of R&D initiatives worldwide working on low- and zero-carbon alternative fuels for shipping, and technological innovation including hydrogen- and ammonia-fueled vessels in pilot stages. I sincerely appreciate the efforts of all IMO Member States supporting these initiatives and look forward to further developments.

But in all our efforts towards decarbonization, IMO must also ensure that this ambitious transition is just and equitable by supporting developing countries, in particular SIDS and LDCs. While there are significant obstacles to overcome in our decarbonization journey, we must not forget that this transition also comes with significant opportunities, including for developing countries such as Malaysia, through the expansion of renewable energy production, retrofitting or the inclusion in route-based action plans. To achieve this, we are developing partnerships with governments and industry to facilitate resource mobilization, and with financial institutions to catalyze financial flows to the maritime sector. Through our global long-term projects, we are promoting inclusive innovation and supporting trials and pilots with a focus on technology deployment and green maritime infrastructure. I would like to express my appreciation to our Member States for supporting IMO's capacity building initiatives through their generous contributions. In particular, I would like to thank the Government of Malaysia for providing the very first contribution to our GHG-TC Trust Fund in 2019 and for their continued contributions to the Fund throughout the years. I would also like to express my appreciation for your active participation in our GreenVoyage 2050 project, in particular the pilot project on green tug and pilot boat operations in the Port of Tanjung Pelepas. It is another excellent example of a project to encourage increased operational energy efficiency and the uptake of new technologies and fuels.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Hearing about the many initiatives and concrete actions already taken by the maritime sector, during this Green Shipping Conference, I am certain that with ambitious and feasible strategy agreed through collaboration and consensus building at IMO, we will successfully navigate the energy transition. Partnerships, collaboration and dialogue are the trademarks of IMO and are now more important than ever. IMO will continue to play its role as the global forum for international shipping, facilitating collaboration, partnerships and dialogue among all stakeholders in the maritime ecosystem.

Together, we can realize IMO’s ambitious goals to lead shipping into a decarbonized and sustainable future.

Thank you.