UNCTAD, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are holding a side-event at COP 28 entitled: The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy: defining the global level-playing-field for shipping decarbonization.
This side event will outline the ambitions in the 2023 GHG Strategy and highlight the need for collaboration amongst all stakeholders to reach the goals.
Programme
Welcome remarks and 2023 IMO GHG Strategy: key elements
- Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, Director, Marine Environment Division and incoming Secretary-General, IMO
Intergovernmental collaboration to support a net-zero future for international shipping
- Mr. Francesco La Camera, Director-General, IRENA
- Ms. Rebecca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UNCTAD [Video message]
Government perspectives on the implementation of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy
Moderator:
- Ms. Johannah Christensen, CEO, Global Maritime Forum
Speakers:
- Mr. Mark Harbers, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Netherlands
- Mr. Avinash Persaud, Special envoy to the Prime Minister on investment and financial services, Barbados
- Mr. Ragnhild Sjoner Syrstad, State Secretary to Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway
- Amb. Albon Ishoda, Presidential Special Envoy for Shipping, Marshall Islands
Maritime value chain perspectives on increasing availability of alternative fuels to ensure achieving the reduction targets in the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy
Moderator:
- Mr. Jan Hoffmann, Chief, Trade Logistics Branch, UNCTAD
Speakers:
- Mr. Bud Darr, Group Executive Vice President, Maritime policy and government affairs, MSC
- Mr. Christophe Pouts, Chair of Fuels and Products Working Group, IPIECA
- Ms. Alicia Eastman, President, InterContinental Energy
- Mr. Cem Ugur, Director Group Shipping, Tata Steel
Closing remarks
- Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, IMO
Rebeca Grynspan, of Costa Rica, became UNCTAD's eighth Secretary-General on 13 September 2021 and is the first woman to lead the organization.
Prior to her UNCTAD appointment, she was the Ibero-American secretary-general from 2014 to 2021, also the first woman to head the organization. During her mandate, she has coordinated the 22-member Iberoamerican Conference and led four key summits of Heads of State and Government.
In 2010 she was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and prior to that was UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Grynspan served as Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. She was also Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs, and Deputy Minister of Finance. In 2021 she was named Special International Advisor to the newly created Economic and Social Council of Argentina and invited to join as member of the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
In addition to her experience as a lecturer and advisor to several international organizations, she has been actively involved in key United Nations initiatives, such as the Millennium Project's Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development and the High-level Panel on Financing for Development.
In 2014 and 2015, she was recognized as one of the 50 leading intellectuals of Latin America. And she was recognized as one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America by Forbes magazine.
Ms Grynspan holds a degree in Economics by the University of Costa Rica and a MSc in Economics by the University of Sussex. She has been awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Salamanca, the University of Extremadura and the European University of Madrid in recognition of her outstanding professional achievements.
Jan joined UNCTAD in 2003 and is Chief of the organization’s Trade Logistics Branch since 2016. The Branch implements research and technical assistance programmes in international transport and trade facilitation.
Previously, Jan worked six years for the UN ECLAC in Santiago de Chile, and two years for the IMO in London and Santiago.
Prior to this, he held part time positions as assistant professor, import-export agent, and seafarer. Jan has studied in Germany, UK, and Spain, and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Hamburg.
The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy: defining the global level-playing-field for shipping decarbonization
28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28)
30 November to 12 December 2023, Expo City, Dubai
UN Climate Change Conference
30 Nov - 12 Dec 2023
Recordings of the meeting 
Related
Topic
Transport, logistics and trade facilitation Programme
Event
- COP28 side event - Coordinating for greater ocean-based climate change ambition: A UN-Oceans perspective
- COP28 side event - Investing in the future: Transforming financing for the Paris Agreement and development goals
Contact
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Mr. Camille Bourgeon
[email protected]
+33 6 79695651
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Mr. Roland ROesch
[email protected]
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Mr. Jan Hoffmann
[email protected]
+41 7 66910694