The Greek Minister for the Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, met his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdelaziz bin Salmane Al Saud, and agreed to work together to submit a joint proposal on the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Net Zero Framework, during a visit to Riyadh on Thursday 15 January, according to a statement from the ministry quoted by several Greek media.
IMO member states failed to adopt an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping to zero by 2050 due to opposition from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil-producing countries (see EUROPE 13733/27). The decision has therefore been postponed for a year. The EU Member States had voted against the postponement of this framework, with the exception of Greece and Cyprus, who abstained, and Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, who were absent (see EUROPE 13748/16).
Mr Papastavrou insisted that Greece is “a voice of realism in Europe, regarding energy”.
At a press conference the following day, Eva Hrncirova, spokeswoman for the European Commission, reaffirmed her institution’s “unwavering support” for the common objective of carbon neutrality for global shipping by 2050. “We are obviously ready to build bridges and to work with our partners to enable the adoption of this approach as soon as discussions resume within the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee”, she emphasised. She stressed the importance of EU Member States uniting around common objectives within the IMO. “We remain in contact with all Member States and the relevant authorities”, she concluded. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)