Crossroads between COP26 & MEPC77

 

Andrew Irwin is the project officer at the Micronesian Center for Sustainable Transport.

While the COP26 team is returning from Glasgow, the International Maritime Organisation is preparing for its 77th Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting from 22nd-26th November.

It marks another opportunity for Fiji to offer strong climate leadership in solidarity with its Pacific neighbours. 

This is especially pressing, given the tenor of the global climate dialogue with the closing remarks of UN SG António Guterres – “It is an important step but is not enough. We must accelerate climate action to keep alive the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.” 

So in Glasgow, where Fiji’s Prime Minister and Minister of Economy raised the topics of green hydrogen as a shipping fuel and an electric public transportation system, respectively, the realities of structuring, financing, and transitioning the transport subsectors domestically will need to be explored and detailed in order to deliver on these increasingly necessary mitigation measures. 

It is incumbent on Fiji to decarbonise not only to play a role in offsetting its small contributions to global emissions.

To ensure it is not left behind in the energy transition, bearing both direct costs and opportunity costs for failing to move to a new energy paradigm.

It is unclear if investment in green hydrogen or ammonia will emerge as the predominant alternative fuel, but significant investment elsewhere in the world is already mobilising to undertake R&D of both propulsion technology and associated infrastructure. 

These considerations are coupled with Fiji’s additional commitments as a signatory to the Clydebank Declaration (joined by RMI and 20 other nations), recognising rapid transition in the coming decade to clean maritime fuels, zero-emission vessels, alternative propulsion systems, and the global availability of landside infrastructure to support these, is imperative for the transition to clean shipping.

In order to make achieve this transition, the COP26 outcome statement mentions mobilising climate finance “from all sources to reach the level needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, including significantly increasing support for developing country Parties, beyond $100 billion per year”

Following these commitments, Fiji’s presence at IMO’s upcoming MEPC 77 is of instrumental importance. The RMI/Solomons GHG Levy proposal is now one among many suggesting market-based-measures to reduce shipping emissions while generating revenue.

If Fiji wants to be part of the discussion on equity in collection and distribution of the expected billions per year, next week should be well marked on Ministry calendars