IMO Papers

Following the report of the thirtieth session of the technical group on the evaluation of safety and pollution hazards of chemicals (ESPH 30) and the approval of interim guidelines for the safety of ships using ammonia as fuel which were approved at MSC 109 in December 2024, the co-sponsors of this submission wish to bring to the Committee’s attention concerns around the use of ammonia (NH3) as an energy carrier, which will increase its transport by ship both as fuel and as cargo.

This document presents evidence for the high potential of energy efficiency to contribute to the achievement of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, and includes new calculations that show this would require a supply-based carbon intensity reduction factor of 55% by 2030, compared to 2008, equivalent to a reduction factor of 41% by 2030 compared to 2019.

This document builds on document ISWG-GHG 17/3 (CSC) to complement the extensive literature review on the well-to-tank (WtT) GHG intensity of liquified natural gas (LNG) imports in the European Union, including information and literature to determine a WtT value for a global default emission factor.

This document presents information on the current literature about tank-to-wake (TtW) nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from ammonia dual-fuel engines. Recent studies indicate significant variability in N₂O emissions across engine types, operating conditions, and testing methodologies. This document compiles emission data and findings from the most up-to-date laboratory tests and modeling efforts. The summarized results are presented in g N2O/g NH3 units, without normalization of scenario parameters across studies. The co-sponsors propose that the Committee agree to forward these results to the GESAMP-LCA Working Group to be used as part of their mandate to improve the robustness of GHG accounting for ammonia-fueled ships.

Document MEPC 82/7/10 proposed a new approach to address shipping within the triple planetary crisis of climate, biodiversity and pollution, in order to prioritize solutions with co-benefits to address these crises. This document updates the Committee on relevant research and initiatives and recommends establishing an ad hoc working group to make progress on reversing biodiversity loss and reducing pollution which supports climate action and vice versa.

This document provides an overview of issues stemming from the production of food and feed crop-based biofuels spanning from environmental risks to uncertain GHG emission savings and negative consequences on food security. This document highlights historical experiences with biofuels across various jurisdictions. It demonstrates that food and feed-based biofuels cannot be considered sustainable fuel options.

This document examines the implications of incorporating an 𝑓 𝑣𝑜𝑦 correction factor and adopting the adjusted tank-to-wake (TtW) GHG accounting methodology under the Global Fuel Standard (GFS) as proposed in document ISWG-GHG 17/2/7 (Angola et al.)

This document provides comments on document MEPC 82/6/1 (Austria et al.) concerning GHG emissions data quality and integrity as a basis for current and future IMO GHG regulatory measures, as well as document MEPC 82/6/17 (Austria et al.) on the possible two-step approach for the review and revision of the short-term measures.

This document comments on documents MEPC 81/16 and MEPC 81/16/Add.1, annex 12 and invites the Working Group to ensure an inclusive, deliberative and transparent process for the further development of the basket of candidate mid-term measures during working groups at ISWG-GHG 17, MEPC 82 and at any other formal and informal sessions that might happen in between.