BIMCO and partners submit updated R&D fund proposal to the IMO
Published: 12 May 2022
A
new submission
to
the International
Maritime
Organization (IMO)
addressing
outstanding concerns related to intellectual property rights
(IPR)
,
strengthened
R&D collaboration between developed and developing countries,
and
geographic representation in the Board of Directors
governing the proposed decarbonisation fund has been submitted
.
At MEPC 77 in November 2021 there was increasing support for the decarbonisation fund among governments.
Addressing points raised during the session, the group of countries and industry organisations behind the proposed fund has submitted a concrete text to the IMO ahead of the upcoming MEPC 78 meeting in June.
The charter of the R&D fund is suggested to include clauses that ensure that intellectual property rights are guarded in the projects receiving financial support, while recognising that transparency and knowledge-sharing are critical to ensure success.
The importance and urgency of the establishment of an R&D fund is documented by the reference to a study outlining more than 260 R&D projects in need of funding to support improvement of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of zero-carbon technologies.