A training and awareness workshop on ship decarbonization measures was launched yesterday in Senegal. This three-day event, bringing together the twenty-five countries of the West and Central African Maritime Organization (OMAOC) and some members of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA), aims to “strengthen the capacities of experts from African countries on the concepts, principles, and measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships for decarbonizing maritime transport, as well as to identify the challenges, issues, and opportunities for Africa.”
This initiative is part of the implementation of the 2023 strategy of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which sets ambition levels for the international shipping sector with a goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions from ships by 2050.
According to the workshop organizers, the IMO’s ship decarbonization measures will be presented during the sessions, with special attention given to proposing, with a unified voice, a Dakar Declaration that will reflect Africa’s commitment and perspective.
The maritime sector is considered “one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, behind the energy sector and ahead of industry.”
In this context, it is imperative to raise awareness and build the capacities of African stakeholders to better understand the challenges and issues of maritime transport decarbonization, anticipate new international requirements, and seize the resulting opportunities.
At the national level, given its vulnerability to climate change, Senegal has committed—through the 2015 Paris Agreement and international conventions, as well as through its “Senegal Vision 2050”—to integrate sustainable development principles into national policies and reverse the trend of environmental resource loss. The target is a relative reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5% by 2025 and 7% by 2030, compared to the 2010 baseline.
Source: lequotidien
