IMO, EBRD Partner Up to Promote Green Shipping

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have decided to establish a strategic partnership to promote sustainable maritime transport.

On February 8,  Kitack Lim, IMO Secretary-General, and Phil Bennett, the First Vice President of the EBRD, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

“This strategic partnership, combining IMO’s global mandate and outreach and EBRD’s experience and expertise on investment and finance, is expected to contribute a great deal to sustainable maritime transport and the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Lim said.

“Applying its green principles, the EBRD is investing in ports, shipyards and shipping companies to encourage development of the ‘motorways of the sea’, an international vision to transform shipping into an environmentally friendly alternative to land transport. With the IMO’s expertise we want to help the economies where we invest, and the companies we finance, to make maritime transport greener and more sustainable,” Bennet commented.

Under the agreement, the duo will exchange know-how and experience and work together with national governments, in countries where both institutions are active, to help them implement frameworks for a “fair, effective and sustainable” maritime industry.

Initially, the cooperation will focus on Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey and cover topics such as attracting more investment in the sector, tackling climate change, enhancing energy efficiency and promoting the highest standards of health and safety.

As part of the United Nations family, IMO is actively working towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated SDGs. Most of the elements of the 2030 Agenda will only be realized with a sustainable transport sector supporting world trade and facilitating the global economy, according to IMO.