Marine Environment Protection Committee

Marine Environment Protection Committee: Recently, the 83rd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC-83) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) focused on decarbonizing the global shipping industry.

o The session explored a Market-Based Measure (MBM) to impose emissions charges on the shipping sector, balancing environmental goals with economic fairness.

• About MEPC and Green Shipping: MEPC, under the IMO, addresses ship-related environmental issues such as pollution (oil, sewage, chemicals, garbage), air emissions, and anti-fouling systems, as per the MARPOL treaty.
• Singapore’s hybrid model—based on India’s proposal—was approved (63–16 vote) to reduce shipping emissions, pending final ratification under Annex VI of MARPOL.
• Shipping contributes 2.8% of global emissions, which could rise by 50–250% by 2050 without strong mitigation measures.

• o The IMO’s GHG Strategy (2023) targets a 40% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030, 70% by 2040, and net-zero by 2050.

  o Shipping is one of the few industries with binding international climate goals, unlike aviation, which lacks interim targets.