IMO climate talks conclude with no concrete CO2 reduction goals

The second intersessional climate talks held last week by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concluded with a structural agreement, yet no details on CO2 reductions were finalized.    The International Maritime Organization (IMO) climate talks concluded last week with the publishing of a strategy draft, but no concrete goals for carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gas emissions reduction were decided upon.
   The IMO said in a statement that while the “structure of the strategy has been largely agreed, the detailed text to be included is still under discussion.”
   Short-term measures will be finalized by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) between 2018 and 2023, while mid-term measures could be finalized between 2023 and 2030 and long-term measures finalized beyond 2030.
   “The working group made some considerable progress in bringing together the proposals for the different elements of the draft IMO GHG strategy.,” said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim. “I am confident that Member States will continue to work on this ahead of the next working group session, to build convergence so that the draft initial IMO GHG strategy can be adopted as planned at the next session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee in April 2018.”
   Industry organizations say they are “broadly pleased” with the progress, with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO stating they “are encouraged that the ambitious proposals from the shipping industry regarding CO2 reduction objectives for the sector as a whole remain on the table, along with similar proposals from several IMO Member States.”
   The talks were prefaced by a controversial report published by InfluenceMap that put industry organizations in the spotlight for reportedly blocking IMO climate regulations on purpose. Organizations refuted the claims made by InfluenceMap, yet the report’s creators continue to stand by their findings.
   The third climate talks session is scheduled to meet April 3-6, 2018, at which time a finalized draft is expected to be completed and then adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).