The seventy-second session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72) was held at the IMO in London, U.K. from 9 to 13 April 2018. Since the minutes, resolutions and circulars of the meeting were recently released from the IMO, a summary of the decisions taken at MEPC 72 is provided as below for your information.

1.　Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions
Countermeasures against the GHG emissions from international shipping have been deliberated at IMO, and so far, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) have been implemented.
At MEPC 70, amendments to MARPOL Annex VI to include the Data Collection System for fuel oil consumption of ships as a measure to further improve the energy efficiency were adopted.

(1)　Initial IMO Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships
The Paris Agreement was adopted by consensus in December 2015 at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 21) and the ambitious target to limit the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, has been shared among the world. Thereafter, the reduction of GHG emissions from international shipping has been an urgent issue at IMO as well.
At MEPC 70, a roadmap for developing a comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships was approved. In accordance with this road map, an initial IMO strategy for reduction of GHG emissions needs to be developed by MEPC 72.
It has been discussed to develop the IMO strategy from MEPC 71. At this session, the Initial IMO strategy including below provisions was adopted. (Refer to MEPC.304(72) as attachment 4)　To develop a follow-up action of the Initial IMO Strategy, a meeting of intersessional working group will be held in October, prior to MEPC 73.

(To be continued)