44 countries to sign the agreement
The largest climate agreement of 2018 could be signed by the maritime sector, which represents between 2% and 3% of global emissions of greenhouse gases. The final strategy will not be adopted until 2023, but the April 2018 date was defined for the adoption of an Initial Strategy, which will be finalized this week, from April 3 to 6, by the Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gases. of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). As the issues are controversial, some elements will almost certainly be transferred to the meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which will be held from April 9 to 13 (“MEPC 72”), for final deliberation.
The Initial Strategy will have two important elements: a vision or a long-term ambition, probably in the form of decarbonization by the middle of the century, reduction of emissions or efficiency goal; and a short-term peak target for emissions and measures to begin its reduction. The trading countries have quite different positions. The Marshall Islands and some other nations want an ambitious decarbonisation goal until 2035. Already the European Union and some Pacific islands proposed a goal between 70 and 100% emission reduction by 2050. But a group of countries led by the BRICs plus Argentina (Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India) opposed any absolute goal of reducing emissions. China was in this blocking group, but changed to a slightly more positive position.