To reduce emissions across the maritime sector, national authorities need to first quantify those emissions. Then, they need to develop a strategy to reduce them. A new set of toolkits to assess and address emissions from ships and ports is now available from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The GEF-UNDP-IMO Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) Project developed the Ship Emissions Toolkit and Port Emissions Toolkit. The project collaborated with the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology and International Association of Ports and Harbors.
Astrid Dispert, GloMEEP Technical Adviser, said the guides – available free to download from the GloMEEP website – would help support countries seeking to develop and strengthen national policy and regulatory frameworks related to the prevention of air pollution and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
Practical toolkits to guide national strategy
“Both the ship and port emission toolkits provide practical guidance on assessing emissions so that a national emission reduction strategy for the maritime sector can be developed. The GloMEEP guides provide a wealth of information on assessment techniques and how to develop a national strategy, as well as links to further practical guidance,” Ms. Dispert said.
“Ports and shipping are intrinsically linked – as such, efforts to reduce maritime emissions need to extend beyond seagoing ships alone.
She said IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI regulations on air pollution and energy efficiency focus on ships. However, to reduce port emissions, national authorities need to consider emissions from all sources. These include cargo handling equipment, trucks, and domestic vessels.
She added that these guides help countries to develop national strategies which will address emissions from maritime sector. Additionally, the guides can protect public health and the environment and contribute to the fight against climate change.
Such strategies would include incorporating IMO regulations into national legislation. Annex VI of MARPOL includes regulations to limit air pollution from ships. It also includes energy efficiency regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
In April 2018, IMO adopted its initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which sets out a vision to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping and phase them out, as soon as possible in this century. The initial strategy recognizes the important role of ports as well as shipping in achieving the ambitious targets.