EU Strengthening the Shipping High Ambition Coalition (SHAC) through Pacific Island States effective partnership in IMO meetings.
Under this European Union funded project MCST provided technical and logistical support to Pacific Island delegations in terms of the International Maritime Organisation GHG emissions reduction roadmap work undertaken in 2019-20, continuing on the work of MCST begun initially at the request of Marshall Islands Government in 2014, with an expanding level of Pacific engagement over time.
This project included two trips to Brussels and London to participate in training sessions, talanoa, and IMO meetings (Inter Sessional Working Group on GHG and Marine Environment Protection Committee), as well as research, policy support and briefings. Pacific Island representatives who participated in some or all of the activities of this project were from Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Strengthening and Building Relationships
The project also focussed on strengthening partnerships and building relationships with other High Ambition IMO members participating in the GHG emissions roadmap work. Representatives from DG MOVE and DG CLIMA, Belgium, Denmark, Environmental Defence Fund, European Commission, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, NZ, Sweden, Transport & Environment, University College London, UK, UNCTAD and World Bank all participated in talanoa hosted by MCST along with Pacific counterparts, both face-to-face and virtually.
Online Resources
The project also developed some online materials specifically aimed at preparing delegates for the forthcoming work on the IMO roadmap of particular relevance to the Pacific’s commitment to decarbonisation in line with no more than 1.5oC. These also have interest to anyone wanting to find out more about shipping GHG emissions and international negotiations through a Pacific Islands lens. For more information, please click here.
There is a series of pre-recorded you-tube videos on relevant topics which provide background and context to the key debates in coming IMO meetings. There are also related executive summaries and research papers related to some of the most pertinent topics. More resources will be added over time.
Papers submitted to IMO on GHG emissions reduction by Pacific Islands delegations assisted by MCST are also available. For more information, please click here.
We welcome feedback on these online resources and ideas and suggestions for new topics that could be included in future.
This project has now ended, but the MCST team continue to provide support on GHG emissions reduction and shipping decarbonisation as required.
This initiative by the EU provides capacity building and support to Pacific delegations to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It includes financial support for delegates’ travel to meetings on the control and reduction from greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping during the period 2019-20, in particular the 5th meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gases (ISWG-GHG) and the 74th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in May 2019; ISWG-GHG 6 in November 2019; and ISWG-GHG 7 and MEPC 75 in March-April 2020.
A team of experts from MCST/USP is providing technical support and training activities, with the aim of enabling effective participation in the meetings, strengthening the important voice from the Pacific.