Member Governments address the special needs ofdeveloping countries in an effort to help them developtheir maritime sector and to reconcile the twoprinciples. IMO's Integrated Technical Co-operationProgramme aims to assist Governments that lack theresources needed to improve their ability to complywith international rules and standards relating tomaritime safety and the prevention and control ofpollution from ships, giving priority to technicalassistance programmes that focus on human resourcesdevelopment and institutional capacity-building. The new Chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI includes aRegulation on "Promotion of technical co-operationand transfer of technology relating to the improvementof energy efficiency of ships", which requiresAdministrations, in co-operation with IMO and otherinternational bodies, to promote and provide, asappropriate, support directly or through IMO to States,especially developing States, that request technicalassistance. It also requires the Administration of aParty to co-operate actively with other Parties, subjectto its national laws, regulations and policies, topromote the development and transfer of technologyand exchange of information to States that requesttechnical assistance, particularly developing States, in respect of the implementation of measures to fulfilthe requirements of Chapter 4. The majority of theproposed MBMs under consideration by MEPC havethe potential to generate financial proceeds. Moreover,there is a general preference among IMO memberGovernments that a greater part of the revenuesgenerated by an MBM under the auspices of IMOshould be used for climate change purposes indeveloping countries, either through existing or newfunding mechanisms under the UNFCCC or someother international organisation. Creative andinnovative means are under consideration, whichwould see substantial funds, obtained through MBMs,being dedicated to climate change mitigation andadaptation actions in developing countries and mayalso include other ways to secure that a control regimefor international shipping does not have unwantedimplications for developing countries. CONCLUSIONThe adoption of mandatory measures to reduce GHGemissions from shipping is a breakthrough of majorsignificance for IMO, for shipping and, indeed, for theenvironment. This has been acknowledged in the widercontext of global efforts to combat climate change byUNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.Having acknowledged IMO's outstanding achievementas establishing, for the first time in history, a globalGHG emission reduction regime for an entire economicsector, Ms Figueres went on to say that IMO had provenits strong leadership and commitment in addressingthe issue. And UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonalso congratulated IMO "on the significant outcomereached at the 62nd session of the MarineEnvironment Protection Committee", adding that this"underscores the fact that IMO is best positioned toplay a leadership role in addressing greenhouse gasemissions from international shipping".Building on the progress achieved, efforts to encouragefurther reductions continue apace. Looking ahead, the62nd session of MEPC agreed a work plan to continuethe work on energy efficiency measures for ships, toinclude the development of the EEDI framework forship types, sizes and propulsion systems not coveredby the current EEDI requirements, and thedevelopment of EEDI and SEEMP-related guidelines.An intersessional working group meeting on energyefficiency measures for ships is scheduled to takeplace in January 2012, and the subject will again behigh on the agenda when the MEPC meets for its 63rdsession next February.nABOUT THE AUTHOREfthimios E. Mitropoulos is Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Mr Mitropoulos joined the IMO Secretariat in January 1979 in the Maritime Safety Division and in May 1992 was appointed Director of the Division. In May 2000 he became Assistant Secretary-General and in November 2003 was elected Secretary-General for 2004 to 2008. In November 2006, the IMO Council decided to renew his mandate for another 4 years, concluding 31 December 2011. Mr Mitropoulos is also Chancellor of the World Maritime University (Malmo, Sweden) and Chairman of the Governing Board of the International Maritime Law Institute. He is the author of several books on shipping economics and policy, categories/types of merchant vessels, safety of navigation and other shipping-related matters. LOGISTICS099Above:Efthimios E. MitropoulosPhoto: shutterstock.com

he mandatory measures to reducegreenhouse gas emissions frominternational shipping are a welcomedstep towards the greening up of the industry. Some of the most innovative andenvironmentally friendly shipping companies, such as Maersk Line, had already been doing their part to cut their carbon footprint and now look to governments and the IMO to enhance the current regulation with a strong market-basedmeasure.THE FIRST GLOBAL EFFICIENCYSTANDARDSThe International Maritime Organization (IMO) hasbeen tasked to develop CO2-related regulation, butsome have argued that it is the UNFCCC who should bedealing with shipping in order to give it moremomentum. And recently we have even seen someregional action seeking to address CO2 emissions fromshipping.Shipping as an industry is very global in its nature andcannot be readily regulated using the samemechanisms as for countries. IMO is set up to regulateshipping and has been successful in implementingother forms of environmental regulation too. MaerskLine has been a strong supporter of IMO getting a fairchance to come up with a solution for shipping. For us, therefore, it was very encouraging to see themember states agree to a set of mandatory energyefficiency standards for ships when they met thissummer, as this will ensure that new ships meetcertain energy efficiency requirements going forward.The regulation only covers ships built after 2013, sothere is still more work to be done, but it is animportant first step. In fact, it is the first mandatoryenergy efficiency standard for any global industry!PIONEERING PRACTICESThe mandatory efficiency scheme is not the only goodnews from the shipping industry. Over the last 2-3years, we have seen signs that the industry and itsstakeholders are increasingly addressing climatechange in new and innovative ways.Ports are developing environmental indexes which areintended to lead to differentiated port fees based onenvironmental performance. And a growing number oflarge customers are increasingly demandingtransparency on CO2 performance as a means forthem to include CO2 in their buying criteria. At Maersk Line, we have partnered with the Koreanshipyard DSME to build a series of 20 so-called Triple-E container ships, which will be the biggest and mostenergy efficient container ships ever seen - with a CO2performance twice as good as the average ships on theAsia-Europe trade route, where they will be deployed.The business case for building the Triple-E is two-fold:lower CO2 emissions equals cost savings on the fuelbill, which will give us a clear advantage over thecompetition. And on top of that, we will respond to thegrowing demands of customers thereby, hopefully,attracting more business. Good for us, but certainlyalso good for the environment.READY FOR THE NEXT STEPSo, good things are happening both on the supply andSHIPPINGISRIPE FOREFFECTIVE CO2REGULATION100LOGISTICSJACOB STERLING, HEAD OF CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT, MAERSK LINET