Key Issues at Stake at the 71st Session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71)

Despite efficiency improvements, CO2 emissions from international shipping are projected to be two to five times higher in 2050 than in 1990. At the Paris climate conference, countries agreed to limit climate change to well below 2°C.

Without considerable contributions of the shipping sector to global mitigation efforts this goal will be much harder to achieve. The main issue at stake at MEPC 71 is the development of the Comprehensive IMO Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships. MEPC 71 will be preceded by a weeklong meeting of the GHG Working Group that will discuss issues relating to the Initial Strategy that should be adopted in 2018.

External authors: Jakob Graichen, Martin Cames, Vanessa Cook

IMO: Meetings: Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), 3-7 July 2017 http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/MeetingSummaries/MEPC/Pages/Default.aspx

International Maritime Organisation: Marine environment http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/Default.aspx

European Commission: DG Environment: Policies: Marine and Coast http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/index_en.htm

ESO: Background information: IMO: Reducing global emissions from shipping http://www.europeansources.info/record/imo-reducing-global-emissions-from-shipping/

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