IMO: Asia-focused emission reduction project nears start

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) have launched the preparatory phase for the Blue Solutions Project with a regional kick-off meeting held on 28 June 2021.

The preparatory project, which is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany, aims to help East and Southeast Asian countries identify opportunities to prevent and reduce maritime transport emissions in line with their national, regional and international commitments.

These will then be integrated into a full-fledged technical assistance project that will focus on the demonstration of potential solutions.

It is expected that the preparatory activities will be concluded by end of 2021 so that the full-size project can be commissioned by the beginning of 2022.

As informed, the preparation phase will include discussion with Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam, who could potentially receive funding support from a full-size EUR 15 million project to target reduction of greenhouse gases and other polluting emissions from the maritime sector with a focus on ports, ships and hinterland transport.

These emission reduction goals will be achieved by assessing the emission baselines, developing national roadmaps and demonstrating potential solutions for energy efficiency improvements and optimized processes.

Unveiled in April this year, the Asia-focused project aims to promote knowledge sharing and cooperation in the region and will see consultation with strategic knowledge partner countries Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. It is also expected to catalyze additional investments and co-financing from other stakeholders including financial institutions.

More than 80 representatives from across various parts of the national governments and key maritime stakeholders including financial institutions attended last week’s kick-off meeting.