IMO adopts 2023 strategy on reducing GHG emissions from ships

The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80) has adopted the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships, with enhanced targets to tackle harmful emissions.

The revised strategy includes an enhanced common ambition to reach net-zero GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from international shipping close to 2050, a commitment to ensure an uptake of alternative zero and near-zero GHG fuels by 2030, as well as indicative check-points for 2030 and 2040.

Among other, MEPC adopted Guidelines on life cycle GHG intensity of marine fuels (LCA guidelines). “The LCA guidelines allow for a Well-to-Wake calculation, including Well-to-Tank and Tank-to-Wake emission factors, of total GHG emissions related to the production and use of marine fuels,” the IMO said. It also approved an MEPC circular on Interim guidance on the use of biofuels, and agreed terms of reference for a future ISWG-GHG meeting as well as the next steps for a comprehensive impact assessment of candidate GHG reduction measures.

The sixteenth session of the Intersessional Working Group on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 16) is set to meet in April 2024, ahead of the MEPC 81 session.

According to the IMO, the MEPC considered a number of submissions related to onboard CO2 capture and agreed to instruct ISWG-GHG 16, if time permits, to consider the proposals related to onboard CO2 capture ahead of MEPC 81 and advise the Committee on a way forward.

Draft amendments were approved relating to the Data Collection System (DCS) – a database with ships’ fuel oil consumption – “noting broad support within the Group for the inclusion of data on transport work and on enhanced level of granularity of reported data in the DCS”.

In another important development, the MEPC approved the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention Review Plan, including the list of priority issues to be considered in the convention review stage. This will guide the comprehensive review of the BWM Convention over the next three years and the corresponding development of a package of amendments to the Convention.

“The CRP, which will be disseminated as a BWM.2 circular, envisages that the amendments developed during this comprehensive process could be adopted at MEPC 85 in Autumn 2026,” the IMO said. The Committee re-established the Correspondence Group on Review of the BWM Convention.

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