Marshall Islands Ambassador to IMO albon Ishoda at the MEPC 80 in London. 3 July 2023. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Kelvin Anthony
The Marshall Islands chief negotiator to the United Nations global regulator for shipping, Albon Ishoda says Pacific nations will "fight to address the needs of climate vulnerable countries" to achieve the right set of measures in London to put the industry on a 1.5 degrees pathway.
Mr Ishoda is part of a small but loud delegation from the region at the negotiations, as the clock ticks down for the International Maritime Organisation to finalise and adopt a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emission from ships by Friday.
However, it is not without challenges the Pacific has had to sound the alarm on a possible "disinformation" campaign, which he says is peddled by "certain countries" about the Pacific's landmark proposal from 2021 to introduce universal carbon tax on shipping.
With the talks entering crunch time, Mr Ishoda spoke to RNZ Pacific's Kelvin Anthony at the IMO's Londdon headquarters following the negotiations.