Ki-tack Lim, the new Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has announced that the shipping body for the UN is considering the implementation of a greenhouse gas emissions target for the sector this spring, according to Climate Change News.
Ki-tack Lim said: “Contributing to the fight against climate change is a top priority for IMO, alongside maritime safety and security and the prevention of pollution into the marine environment from ships. I think that IMO will be able to agree on the appropriate way forward.”
Read a Technical Paper from Ki-tack Lim
Bill Hemmings, Campaigner at Brussels-based non-governmental organisation Transport and Environment, said: “No sector can continue emitting at the rate of growth of either shipping or aviation without completely jeopardising the 1.5 degree – and earlier 2 degree – target.
“Lazy efforts won’t cut it. In short, the time for business as usual at the IMO is over and in that sense the arrival of the new secretary general is met with great anticipation.”
Tristan Smith, Shipping and Climate Change Expert at UCL, said: “Rome wasn’t built in a day and shipping’s challenging transition and inevitable decarbonisation won’t occur as a result of two projects.
Technical Paper: Environment Excellence at Print Rupert Port
“But we need to start somewhere and the secretary general’s recognition of the need to address developing world capacity and technology is important.”
The IMO has been left to independently tackle shipping emissions after it was excluded from the recent COP21 global sustainability conference in Paris at the end of 2015.
Leading liner Maersk recently called for shipping to be put back on the agenda.
