GLOBAL OCEANS CONFERENCE 2010 UNESCO, Paris, 3 to 7 May 2010 POLICY CONFERENCE

1. GLOBAL OCEANS CONFERENCE 2010 UNESCO, Paris, 3 to 7 May 2010 POLICY CONFERENCE PLENARY PANEL 3 –Strategic Planning and Financing for Mitigation Activities Miguel Palomares Director, Marine Environment Division INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION (IMO)

2. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Safe, secure and efficient shipping on cleaner oceans! • The IMO Convention was adopted in 1948 and IMO first met in 1959 • A specialized agency of the UN • 169 Member States • Develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping: 52 international treaty instruments • Safety, environment, legal matters, technical co-operation, security, efficiency of shipping, seafarers training  2

3. IMO’s ENVIRONMENTAL WORK • - Concentrates on prevention: • MARPOL - International Convention on prevention of pollution from Ships (oil, chemicals, sewage, garbage, gases) • Ballast Water Management Convention • London Convention and Protocol on Prevention of marine pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter • and contributes substantially to the theme of the Conference: ensuring survival, preserving life, improving governance

4. MARPOL Annex VI: Air pollution prevention Important amendments coming into force on 1 July 2010 that will drastically reduce ships’ emissions of: - Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - Sulphur oxides (SOx) - Particulate matter to mitigate the adverse effects on human health, the oceans and the atmosphere

5. CLIMATE CHANGE • International shipping responsible for 2.7% of global CO2 emissions • IMO is determined to take regulatory action to substantially reduce shipping’s emissions by introducing mandatory measures in MARPOL Annex VI • Results will materialize later in 2010 and will be presented to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Mexico in December

6. CLIMATE CHANGE (Cont’d) • Current work concentrating on the development of: • Technical measures (EEDI) • Operational measures (SEEMP) • Market-based mechanisms • All of which will constitute an international regime aimed at reducing, in a proportionate manner, CO2 emissions from ships engaged in international trade

7. INVASIVE AQUATIC SPECIES • This most important of threats to marine biodiversity is being addressed by taking global regulatory action to minimize the transfer of harmful invasive species through: • ships’ ballast water and sediments (Ballast Water Management Convention) • bio-fouling of ship’s hulls (regulatory action underway)

8. CO2 SEQUESTRATION Storage of CO2 in sub-seabed geological formations for permanent isolation has been regulated since 2007 under the Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter IMO has also adopted Guidance on risk assessment and management for CO2 sequestration, together with a specific reporting format for active carbon capture and storage projects

9. OCEAN FERTILIZATION IMO has adopted a precautionary approach to all forms of marine geo-engineering technologies 2006: IMO issued a “statement of concern” 2008: Policy resolution adopted, allowing ocean fertilization only for “legitimate scientific research” 2010: Assessment framework will be completed to enable national Administrations to determine whether a research proposal is legitimate

10. CONCLUSIONS Over the years, IMO has built a formidable corpus of international maritime legislation aimed at preventing ship-source pollution and mitigating any adverse effects on the marine and atmospheric environment The Organization is committed to continue addressing the current and emerging environmental challenges with firm determination to ensure that international shipping keeps contributing to the world’s development in an environmentally sustainable manner.