IMO and Norway launch global green project

The GreenVoyage-2050 project will run for an initial two year period and will promote global efforts to demonstrate and test technical solutions for reducing such emissions, as well as enhancing knowledge and information sharing to support the IMO GHG reduction strategy. The Norwegian government is funding the project with a grant of US$1.1m.

Speaking at the project’s official launch, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim drew particular attention to the importance of private-sector participation. “I am particularly encouraged by the fact that the GreenVoyage-2050 project is designed with a private-sector partnership component,” he said. “This will accelerate the uptake of technology solutions by the industry.”

Initially eight countries, from Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific are expected to take pilot roles. These countries will then become ‘champions’, supporting other partnering countries to follow a similar path. Eventually more than 50 countries in 14 sub-regions across the globe are expected to participate.

GreenVoyage-2050 will build on the momentum gained from two current projects – GloMEEP, the GEF-UNDP-IMO Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project, and the European Union-funded GMN project, which has established five maritime technology cooperation centres in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.