TIM eMagazine Vol.1 Issue 3
developments. The speakers shared on the creation of
enabling environments; the current state of green ship
technology and what might be expected in the future;
and how to continue to promote and sustain capacity
building and technology cooperation.
The conference was organized within the framework
of the GEF-IMO-UNDP Global Maritime Energy
Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP Project),
which was launched during the conference. The
establishment of a global network of maritime
technology cooperation centres is an idea which could
be further developed at IMO or under the GloMEEP
umbrella. “This was an excellent opportunity for
a dialogue among a wide range of stakeholders. I
sincerely hope that the dialogue we initiated here will
continue so that ships, and shipping, are future-ready,”
said Dr Stefan Micallef, Director, Marine Environment
Division, IMO, at the close of the conference.
Noting the timing of the conference relative to the
United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held
in Paris in November-December, Mr. Micallef said:
“This Joint IMO-Singapore Conference could not have
come at a better time. It has illustrated that IMO and
the maritime sector stand ready to support the global
community to achieve its goals to address climate
change that will be set in Paris later this year.”
Speaking at the opening of the conference, IMO
Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said that it was
important to understand the concept of technology
transfer as actions of cooperation and partnership
and not just a purely commercial transaction between
developed and developing countries.
“My message to this Conference is three-fold. First,
it is critically important to develop global partnership
and networking mechanisms to accelerate cooperation
in maritime technology transfer. Second, it is important
to institutionalise the technology transfer and capacity
building effort to meet the unique needs of maritime
industry – the most international industry of all; and
third, Government and industry leaders need to support
this concept and to contribute to building this global
partnership and network,” Mr. Sekimizu said.
Mr. Andrew Tan, Chief Executive, Maritime and
Port Authority of Singapore, pledged his country’s
support for this process. “Climate change is one of
the most significant threats facing the world today.
Singapore is committed to be an integral part of IMO’s
process to encourage the deployment and diffusion
of environmentally-friendly ship technologies. We
will continue to support platforms like FutureReady Shipping 2015 where maritime leaders and
professionals can gather to explore feasible, scalable and
practical approaches to a more energy-efficient and low-
carbon shipping. Working together, MPA and IMO will
ensure strong pillars are in place within the maritime
community to carry out global efforts in addressing
ships’ greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr. Tan said.
IMO MANDATORY ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES
Mandatory technical and operational energy-efficiency
measures were adopted by Parties to Annex VI of
the International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in July 2011 and they
entered into force on 1 January 2013. These regulations
make mandatory the Energy Efficiency Design Index
(EEDI) for certain types of new ships, and the Ship
Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all
ships. Since the entry into force of the regulations on
energy efficiency for ships in 2013, further work has
been undertaken to extend the scope of application
of the EEDI to include several additional ship types,
to further develop guidelines to support uniform
implementation, and to promote technology transfer.
In 2013, IMO adopted a Resolution (MEPC.229(65))
on Promotion of Technical Co-operation and Transfer
of Technology relating to the Improvement of Energy
Efficiency of Ships, which, among other things, requests
the Organization, through its various programmes,
to provide technical assistance to Member States to
enable cooperation in the transfer of energy efficient
technologies to developing countries in particular; and
further assist in the sourcing of funding for capacity
building and support to States, in particular developing
States, which have requested technology transfer.
IMO’s third study on greenhouse gas emissions from
ships (2014) estimates that international shipping
emitted 796 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2)
in 2012, down from 885 million tonnes in 2007.
This represented 2.2% of the global emissions of
CO2 in 2012, down from 2.8% in 2007. However,
the study’s “business as usual” scenarios forecast a
growth in CO2 emissions for international maritime
transport of between 50% to 250% in the period
to 2050, depending on future economic and energy
developments.
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