Barry Parker 巴里·帕克 June 26, 2023 2023年6月26日
With the all-important MEPC 80 meeting now a week away, the preparatory work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is now in its final stages. 现在距离最重要的MEPC 80会议还有一周的时间，国际海事组织(IMO)的筹备工作已进入最后阶段。
The Secretary General of the IMO, Kitack Lim,told the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 15, which began a week-long meeting doing prep-work on revision of the IMO’s Greenhouse Gas Strategy, to “be ambitious and bold.” 国际海事组织(IMO)秘书长林基泽(Kitack Lim)告诉减少船舶温室气体排放闭会期间工作组(ISWG-GHG 15)，该工作组开始了为期一周的会议，为修订国际海事组织的温室气体战略做准备工作，“要雄心勃勃，大胆大胆”。
Even though the plenary sessions of the MEPC (Marine Environmental Protection Committee), such as MEPC 80, receive a great deal of attention, much of the technical work and development of proposals is done behind the scenes, in between meetings by the working group of maritime experts chaired by Sveinung Oftedal, who has a “day job” in the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. 尽管MEPC(海洋环境保护委员会)的全体会议，如MEPC 80，受到了极大的关注，但许多技术工作和提案的制定都是在幕后完成的，在会议间隙由在挪威气候和环境部有“日常工作”的Sveinung Oftedal主持的海洋专家工作组完成。
Another group, described as the “Ad-hoc expert workshop on candidate mid-term GHG reduction measures”, had met in late May with 380 participants. This meeting provided a further background on the issues to be dealt with at MEPC 80, and, importantly, also included a liaison with UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which deals with the broader economic and geopolitical landscape. For example, UNCTAD had played a crucial role in the Summer 2022 negotiation of the deal that enabled grain exports out of Ukraine. 另一个被称为“中期温室气体减排备选措施特设专家讲习班”的小组在5月底举行了会议，有380名与会者。这次会议为MEPC 80将要处理的问题提供了进一步的背景资料，重要的是，还包括与贸发会议，即联合国贸易和发展会议的联络，该会议处理更广泛的经济和地缘政治格局。例如，贸发会议在2022年夏季乌克兰谷物出口协议谈判中发挥了关键作用。
This week, according to the IMO, the ISWG-15 participants will be considering two main themes. First, “the finalization of the draft 2023 IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships”. And second, “the further assessment and selection of measures, both technical and economic elements”. 根据国际海事组织的说法，ISWG-15的参与者本周将考虑两个主要主题。首先，“2023年国际海事组织减少船舶温室气体排放战略草案的定稿”。第二，“进一步评估和选择措施，包括技术和经济因素”。
The overall strategy will likely see a revision from the IMO’s 2018 “Initial Strategy”, which targeted a 50% reduction in maritime greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (compared with 2008). Potentially, the MEPC delegates could agree next week on a “Revised Strategy”, with a goal of 100% reduction by 2050, but this is by no means a certainty. The technical and economic elements (the standards for fuels, and mechanisms for funding the move to new fueling alternatives) are the nuts and bolts of how to get to the new levels of ambition that might be agreed. 总体战略可能会对国际海事组织2018年的“初步战略”进行修订，该战略的目标是到2050年将海洋温室气体排放量减少50%(与2008年相比)。下周，MEPC代表们可能会就“修订战略”达成一致，目标是到2050年减排100%，但这绝不是必然的。技术和经济因素(燃料标准，以及向新燃料替代方案提供资金的机制)是如何达到可能达成一致的新目标的具体细节。
According to the IMO, “It is anticipated that a working group will be established, during MEPC 80, to finalize the draft strategy, following plenary statements.” This follows the pattern of previous meetings where positions of the 170+ members are voiced in the main meeting (the “plenary” gathering), and then a working group meets afterwards, sometimes late into the nights (UK time) to hammer out specifics, and then reports back to the assemblage on the last day of the MEPC meeting. 根据国际海事组织的说法，“预计将在MEPC 80期间成立一个工作组，在全体会议发言后最终确定战略草案。”这沿袭了以往会议的模式，即170多个成员国在主要会议(“全体会议”)上发表立场，然后再召开工作组会议，有时会持续到深夜(英国时间)以敲定具体细节，然后在MEPC会议的最后一天向全体会议报告。
Still, with the widely anticipated MEPC 80 confab just one week out, it remains to be seen how bold the MEPC delegates will actually be on moving the maritime decarbonization goalposts. 尽管如此，人们普遍期待的MEPC 80会议仅在一周后召开，MEPC代表们在推动海洋脱碳方面的实际行动有多大胆，仍有待观察。