Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez will lead the IMO delegation at COP 29, the annual UN Climate Change Conference, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024.
The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will gather world leaders and around 40,000 delegates from governments, civil society, and the private sector to discuss strategies to combat climate change.
In alignment with the Paris Agreement, the global maritime sector has committed to an ambitious goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by or around 2050, as outlined in the IMO’s 2023 Strategy to Reduce GHG Emissions from Ships.
At COP 29, Secretary-General Dominguez will highlight recent progress in implementing the IMO’s strategy, particularly regarding ongoing negotiations for binding mid-term economic and technical measures to support the maritime sector’s decarbonization.
Furthermore, this conference presents an important platform to underscore the need for collaboration with the energy and financial sectors and cargo owners, given the critical role of shipping in both global energy transition and international trade.
In preparation for COP 29, IMO submitted a report to the UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 61), detailing progress and recent steps supporting maritime climate action. The report includes outcomes from IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 82), which convened in September and October 2024.
During that session, member states advanced discussions on mid-term GHG reduction measures, including a proposed global pricing mechanism for GHG emissions from ships and a global marine fuel standard. The session saw significant alignment among members and led to a draft legal text—the “IMO Net-Zero Framework”—which will serve as the foundation for the next round of talks.
In addition, these mid-term measures are targeted for adoption by late 2025, with a planned entry into force in 2027.
