The IMO LCA framework, which refers to the IMO framework on life cycle greenhouse gas intensity of marine fuels, includes the development of guidelines on requirements and procedures for recognition of Sustainable Fuel Certification Schemes (SFCS Guidelines) to ensure traceability of fuel sustainability characteristics across the entire fuel supply chain. One of the core principles of the draft guidelines is to implement a rigorous and structured system for assessing fuels' well-to-tank (WtT) GHG emissions, incorporating traceability and chain of custody mechanisms to ensure transparency and avoid double counting.
At the request of MEPC 84, the Secretariat organized an Expert Workshop (15 July) on chain of custody models for fuel supply traceability with the aim of enhancing the understanding of these models (such as physical segregation, mass balance or book and claim) and how these could be integrated into the IMO LCA framework. The LCA framework is a key component of future IMO GHG reduction measures.
The workshop provided an opportunity to better understand experiences from chain of custody models in other sectors, which IMO could benefit from in its further work, notably in the context of sustainable marine fuel certification. Experts emphasized the vast experience already gained in using mass balance and the importance of alignment among frameworks. Information and views expressed in the workshop are expected to help further develop the LCA Guidelines and draft SFCS Guidelines.
The workshop was held at IMO HQ and in hybrid mode and was moderated by Mr. Sveinung Oftedal, Chair of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships. A total of 211 participants attended the workshop.
