Co-organized by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Marine & Environmental Law Institute (MELAW) at Dalhousie University, this consultation workshop includes experts from CIGI’s International Law Research Program and experts from governmental, academic, and private sectors.
Global mitigation efforts to combat climate change were significantly advanced by the entry into force of the Paris Agreement in early November 2016. Progress was also made in the domain of international transportation with the adoption of a number of measures to address greenhouse gas emissions under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) at its 39th Triennial Assembly, including the establishment of a Global Market-based Measure (GMBM) for carbon offsetting of international aviation emissions.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been actively pursuing initiatives to reduce the carbon impact of maritime operations since a resolution on Policies and Practices related to the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships was adopted in 2003. Initiatives included amendments to Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973/78 to include mandatory Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships, Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships, and a mandatory system for reporting data on ships’ annual fuel consumption, including a Statement of Compliance for ships and a Ship Fuel Consumption Database. A roadmap for 2017-2023 to develop a comprehensive strategy has also been adopted. In July 2017, the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee will be engaged in major discussions to move forward the agenda for action on climate change in international shipping.
The European Union is also calling for a global approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. This research consultation workshop will consider how the international maritime legal and governance frameworks are addressing address climate change challenges in shipping and explore potential knowledge and research needs to further inform and facilitate the discourse.
Please note that the roundtable will take place under Chatham House Rule:
When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed: https://www.chathamhouse.org/about/chatham-house- rule#sthash.Df84X0vS.dpuf
Participants are not obliged to speak and there will be no attribution of any participant’s comments in any future report of the meeting.
Event Speakers
Oonagh Fitzgerald
As director of international law at CIGI, Oonagh Fitzgerald established and oversees CIGI’s international law research agenda, which includes policy-relevant research on issues of international economic law, environmental law, intellectual property law and innovation, and Indigenous law.
Markus Gehring
Markus Gehring is a senior fellow with CIGI’s International Law Research Program (ILRP) focusing on international economic law, trade and climate change, as well as trade, investment and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He is also the Arthur Watts Senior Research Fellow in Public International Law with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and a fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge.
Silvia Maciunas
Silvia Maciunas was the deputy director of International Environmental Law at CIGI.