Inuit and Small Island States Collaborate with their Many Strong Voices at the IMO - ICC Press Release

Friday, December 16, 2022 – London UK – This week under its provisional consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) partnered with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to call for increased ambition to address climate impacts from shipping.

Through relaunching the Many Strong Voices project, ICC and SIDS stressed the importance of revising the IMO Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction targets to align with the Paris Agreement 1.5-degree goals and addressing black carbon emissions.

‘This week ICC supported a proposal from SIDS to strengthen the IMO’s ambition in cutting climate warming emissions from shipping’, said Lisa Koperqualuk, President, ICC Canada. ‘The disappearance of Arctic sea ice is a critical issue for us. Sea ice is integral to Inuit culture, transportation, harvesting, and economy. Without it, and with it thinning, our way of life is disrupted in a profound way.’

ICC and SIDS also implored IMO member states to regulate black carbon emissions from shipping. Black carbon results from the incomplete combustion of marine fossil fuels like Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) in vessel engines and is emitted from the exhaust stack of a ship. Black Carbon significantly contributes to local warming, landing on surfaces like snow and ice, absorbing sunlight and reducing ice and snow cover.

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