Asia/Pacific News
Green Corridors Feature in Joint IMO-MPA Seminar
A high-level seminar convened in Singapore last week examined the role of shipping routes and ports to effect decarbonisation across the maritime sector.
The International Maritime Organisation sees ports connected through green corridors as a viable way of reducing the sector's carbon footprint and meeting decarbonisation goals by 2050. The seminar was a joint IMO-Singapore initiative.
Forty participants representing ports and national administrations with a policy brief took part in the event including developing states such as Timor-Leste, the Philippines and Cambodia.
"The Singapore-IMO Third Country Training Programme and the GreenVoyage2050 Project supported the participation of several countries," the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said.
IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim said in London last week that ports from developing states were keen to get involved in the 'green corridor' policy-making.
Green corridors, where efforts are made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on specific sea routes between ports, bring with them economic as well as environmental benefits.
"We will need a collective and inclusive approach to enhance supply chains and examine cost-effective approaches to support the energy transition and decarbonise international shipping," Teo Eng Dih, MPA chief executive said.
"The gathering of a multi-national group to examine route-based measures for the Asian region is encouraging, given the economic vibrancy and growth potential," he added.
