Dr. Bashir Jamoh, Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA with the IMO Secretary General, Mr. Kitack Lim.

After day of intense discussions between members of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) which include Nigeria and others, resolutions have been agreed on for a revised greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy for shipping that sets a net zero emissions target by 2050 even as environmental groups say short of their expectations’

After days of lengthy talks at (IMO headquarters in London, member countries agreed to reach net zero “by or around  2050, taking into account different national circumstances.

Countries also agreed on “indicative checkpoints” to reduce the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 20%, striving for 30% by 2030, compared with 2008, and to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 70%, striving for 80% by 2040, compared with 2008. “The level of ambition agreed is far short of what is needed to be sure of keeping global heating below 1.5C,” said John Maggs, president with the environmental Clean Shipping Coalition.

Countries agreed in Paris in 2015 to try to keep long-term average temperature rises within 1.5 degrees Celsius, which also requires shipping to accelerate decarbonization. Shipping, which transports around 90% of world trade and accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, has faced calls from environmentalists and investors to deliver more concrete action, including a carbon levy.

Nigeria is among countries that made far reaching contributions to the just concluded discussions at the GHG conference.