LONDON: International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Kitack Lim recently opened a weeklong meeting at the UN body’s London headquarters with a call for the shipping industry to collaborate on its preparations for tougher sulfur restrictions next year.
This week’s meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee is the last one before the global sulfur emission limit drops from 3.5% to 0.5% at the start of next year. The MEPC was the IMO body that took the final decision in October 2016 on the 2020 start date for the new limit.
“Significant efforts have been made by this organization to help the shipping industry to prepare,” Lim said. “I cannot stress strongly enough how significant this decision was for the environment and human health.” Lim acknowledged it was “not easy” for shipping to adjust to the new limit.
“It’s a very, very difficult task,” he said.
“It is imperative that this organization demonstrates that it will continue to take tangible action to reduce GHG emissions from shipping in the short term,” Lim said at the opening of the meeting.
“The global community needs to bring action, not words.”
