IMO MTCCs sign MoU to accelerate uptake of decarbonization technologies

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has revealed that five maritime technology cooperation centers (MTCCs) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the uptake of decarbonization technologies.

As informed, the MTCCs signed the MoU for inter-MTCC cooperation on the sidelines of last week’s IMO’s Technical Committee meeting.

The signatories pledged to increase knowledge sharing to help accelerate decarbonization technology uptake in the five regions. These include Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific.

“Technology is a vital tool to ensure that Member States will be able to meet the decarbonization targets that they have agreed to under the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy,” IMO stated.

“Collaboration between the five MTCCs will help bridge the knowledge and technology gaps between the global north and global south,” IMO’s Jose Matheickal said.

As defined by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly comprises Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).

Maritime decarbonization is believed to be critical to decarbonizing the global economy as a whole, including both the Global North and South. However, the progress of maritime decarbonization is clearly uneven.

According to a report published by the International Energy Forum in collaboration with S&P Global Commodity Insights, advanced economies need to deepen their engagement with developing countries to overcome a new “North/South divide” on the pace and priorities of the energy transition.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is advancing concrete measures to decarbonize shipping while aiming to shield small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) from any potential negative impacts on their economies.

In March this year, the IMO agreed on an illustration of a possible draft outline of an “IMO net-zero framework” for cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from international shipping. This marked a step forward in the legal process towards adopting global regulations, referred to as “mid-term GHG reduction measures”, that will help achieve the targets contained in the 2023 IMO Strategy on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.