NextGEN - towards green and efficient navigation
A joint partnership between IMO and Maritime Port Authority of Singapore
Background
In 2018, IMO adopted an Initial Strategy on the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from ships, setting an ambition to reduce total emissions from shipping by at least 50% by 2050; reduce the carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030; and work towards phasing out GHG emissions from ships.
Further to this, in July 2023, during the eightieth session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80), a historic milestone was reached with the unanimous adoption by Member States of the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from ships.
The revised IMO GHG Strategy includes an enhanced common ambition to reach net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by or around, i.e. close to, 2050, a commitment to ensure an uptake of alternative zero and near-zero GHG fuels by 2030, as well as indicative check-points for 2030 and 2040.
To reach these ambitious decarbonization targets, shipping will need a range of innovations and technologies, including alternative low-and zero-carbon fuels. This will require considerable resources, innovation and cooperation. To this end IMO, the Ministry of Climate and Environment of Norway and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, with the intention of collectively undertaking technical cooperation activities to assist developing countries in their efforts to reduce emissions from ships and in ports.
NextGEN
Work to achieve the new targets is being carried out within the frameworks of the GreenVoyage2050 Project – which supports developing countries, including Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in their efforts to implement the IMO Strategy on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships; and the NextGEN Connect initiative – which aims to bring industry, academia and global research centres together, to offer inclusive solutions for maritime decarbonization for trials along shipping routes.
NextGEN (where "GEN" stands for "Green and Efficient Navigation") is a joint initiative between the International Maritime Organization and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), that aims to provide a collaborative global ecosystem of maritime transport decarbonization initiatives and link key stakeholders across the maritime value chain, enabling them to undertake coordinated actions for decarbonizing the sector. This is an important initiative to support the maritime sector's push towards the "next generation" of low and zero-carbon fuels and technologies.
The initiative brings stakeholders together to identify the gaps and opportunities for decarbonization in the international shipping community, these include ports, governments, companies, research institutes, to share knowledge on low- and zero-carbon fuels. The NextGEN web portal aims to encourage information-sharing, create critical networks and opportunities for collaboration, and facilitate capacity-building. The portal encompasses over 430 projects involving just under 1,000 partners and 13 fuel types. NextGEN spotlights global collaborative GHG projects which are led by IMO and that span six continents. The subject areas include technical assistance, technology transfer and capacity-building.
NextGEN Connect Challenge
NextGEN Connect was launched to present scenario-based problem statements derived from NextGEN stakeholders and data collected from the NextGEN database. Through a “Call for Proposals” that was open to industry, academia and global research centres, NextGEN Connect brought various stakeholders together to offer inclusive solutions for maritime decarbonisation for trial along specific shipping routes. Diverse stakeholders proposed robust methodologies to jointly develop, on a pilot basis, route-based action plans to reduce GHG emissions between specific points along a shipping route in the Asia-Pacific region.
NextGEN Connect Winning Proposal
Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub (LR MDH) won the NextGEN Challenge for their proposal on “Development of a Route-Based Action Plan Methodology based upon Silk Alliance”. The Silk Alliance is a green shipping corridor cluster project to trial decarbonization strategies for container ships operating primarily in Asia to achieve significant emission-saving impact.
Sustainable Development Goals
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a shared blueprint for prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action in a global partnership. Among the these goals, SDG 14 is central to the work of IMO, but the organization and NextGEN can also be linked to the SDGs below.
For more information on the Initiative, please email Ms. Gyorgyi Gurban, Head, Projects Implementation at GGurban@imo.org.
For further interest in sharing information of your project/initiative please enquire through the dedicated website: nextgen.imo.org