The International Association of Ports & Harbours has called upon the IMO Member States to vote in favour of the Net Zero framework at the upcoming meeting in October.
IAPH Managing Director, Patrick Verhoeven, commented that: “Adopting the IMO Net Zero Framework which was agreed upon last April will send a clear signal to industry, providing the incentive that is needed for the uptake of new low and zero carbon fuels. IAPH supports the economic measure as it will also provide vital funding for infrastructure investments in ports of developing countries, in order for them not to be left behind in the energy transition.”
And he did not hedge his words on the likely consequences of a failure to vote in favour of the proposal.
“A failure to adopt the Framework would create absolute investment uncertainty, both for shipping companies and ports, and with that significantly delay the decarbonisation of the maritime sector… it would most likely lead to more regional decarbonisation measures for shipping… this will result in a complex regulatory patchwork which will be extremely challenging for ship owners and operators to comply with and which will have unintended consequences… mixture of national and regional measures could spell a disaster for the maritime energy transition.”
Last year the IAPH submitted a study to the IMO which highlighted how the proposed IMO Net Zero Fund could be used to help developing countries invested in adaptation and mitigation measures in ports.
The costs of port decarbonisation infrastructure will vary widely depending on port size, location, existing infrastructure, existing activities, prior adaptation and mitigation plans. However, supported by numerous cases studies in developing countries, the report estimated that the total investment needs for port adaptation and mitigation in developing countries roughly amounts to between 55 to 83 billion USD, the IAPH said in a statement.
