MEPC - 75/7/4: The establishment of an International Maritime Research and Development Board
Eight industry shipowning associations jointly propose to form the world’s first collaborative shipping R&D programme to help eliminate CO2 emissions from international shipping. Since the research and development efforts underway today are not enough to deliver the fuels of the future to shipping by 2030, the industry has proposed to the IMO a new research and development approach – fully funded by the industry itself.
The International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB) would coordinate and fund GHG-reduction research and development work directed at international shipping. Governed by the IMO, the work would focus on applied R&D and prototype development to catalyze the introduction of zero-carbon fuels and the technologies needed to use these fuels in the maritime sector.
The shipping industry would fund the IMRB through a mandatory contribution per ton of GHG emissions to generate USD 500 million per year, or USD 5-6 billion over the planned 10-12 years needed to develop commercially viable zero-emission fuels and technologies.
The proposal is supported by a study that suggests how the proposed fund could accelerate the deployment of zero carbon propulsion systems and the achievement of GHG reduction targets for 2050 set by IMO.