DCU provides specialised carbon pricing training to international government officials
The training covered carbon pricing, an instrument that captures the external costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These are the costs related to emissions that the public end up paying for through damage to crops, health care costs from heat waves and droughts, and loss of property from flooding and sea level rise. Carbon pricing ties them to their sources by putting a price on the emissions in the first instance, in this case the emissions generated by international shipping putting a price on the GHGs emitted.
A GHG price in international shipping could raise between 40-60 billion US dollars a year until 2050 and can offer significant development opportunities for many developing countries. Ensuring inclusive participation in IMO negotiations is essential to an equitable energy transition in the sector.
Throughout October and November 2023, more than 50 government representatives from over 30 developing countries attended the training, including many from small islands developing states and least developed countries.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) —the United Nations body that regulates international shipping at the global level— agreed in July 2023 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the sector to net zero “by or around” 2050. Negotiations are underway among more than 170 states at the IMO on adopting a GHG pricing instrument to achieve this target.
The training is financed by the United Nations Foundation with expert support from the World Bank and UNCTAD. The DCU team that delivered the training included Cáit Gleeson — a graduate of the DCU MSc in Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society.
This is the second capacity-building training that Dr Dominioni organized and delivered for members of delegations to the IMO. The first run between Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 and was financed by Irish Aid.