Zero emissions shipping: Global policies and economic opportunities

Katharine Palmer is the global head of sustainability for Lloyd’s Register Maritime and currently seconded to the UN High Level Climate Champion team as the Shipping Lead.

With over 20 years' experience in the shipping industry Katharine is an established thought leader on maritime sustainability and environmental issues, providing advice and insight to maritime stakeholders across the value chain.

Katharine is a Chartered Marine Scientist and a fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers, Scientists and Technologists (IMarEST) and an Elected Trustee on the Board of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative.

Kerrlene Wills is the Director for Ocean and Climate, where she brings her expertise in multilateralism and diplomacy to the Climate and Environment Team at the United Nations Foundation.

Prior to joining the UN Foundation, Kerrlene served as the Chargée d’ Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Guyana at Geneva, where she led negotiations on fisheries subsides at the World Trade Organization for Guyana and for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Group.

During her tenure in Geneva, Kerrlene also served as regional coordinator for the Group of Americas (GRUA) countries at the World Health Organization, where she facilitated the regional response to global health challenges, including the COVID-19 Pandemic, in advanced of the 75th World Health Assembly.

Kerrlene is a Posse Foundation Scholar, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with Honors from Babson College and a Master’s Degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Rico is a Transport Specialist in the World Bank’s Global Transport Unit, working on the Bank’s engagement in shipping and ports, freight logistics and the transport sector’s energy transition.

Prior to joining the bank, he worked in the shipping industry, in offshore energy and in the ship finance industry for several years.

At Credit Suisse, he led the technical implementation of the Poseidon Principles, a framework for climate-aligned ship lending. Rico holds a first degree in Nautical Science and an MSc in Maritime Policy from Cardiff University.

He is a qualified merchant navy officer.

Onno Hoffmeister is currently project officer of the UNCTAD-IMO project "Comprehensive Impact Assessment of the Basket of Candidate Mid-term GHG Reduction Measures for Maritime Transport".

He led until recently the Statistics Production Unit at UNCTAD and in that function coordinated the development of the UNCTAD - World Bank Trade-and-Transport Dataset.

Onno holds a Master of Economics and a doctoral degree from the European University Viadrina of Frankfurt (Odra). After ten years in academic research at the DIW Berlin and the University of Hamburg and engagement in capacity building for the GIZ, he worked as Statistical Officer for Eurostat and as Statistician for the FAO. He joined UNCTAD in 2015.

His research has been published in the Review of Income and Wealth, the Statistical Journal the IAOS, Agricultural Economics and other journals.

Ms. Darlin Gaitan is the Ports Commissioner of the Belize Port Authority. The Ports Commissioner is the CEO of the Port Authority and is responsible for regulating ports, shipping, and auxiliary maritime services.

With 15 years of experience at the Belize Port Authority, she started as a Vessel Traffic Services Officer, then moved to Port State Control, where she would eventually head the Technical Department.

Ms. Gaitan is a career officer promoted to CEO in 2023 and is the second woman to hold the post. Ports Commissioner Gaitan has a master’s degree in Maritime Management from Memorial University of Newfoundland and has trained extensively in maritime affairs, port management, and project management.

Philip Julien is CEO and Chairman of Kenesjay Green. In 2019, Philip launched Kenesjay Green Limited (KGL) as a pioneering entity for the energy transition industry of the Caribbean. Its primary goal is to establish renewable and low-carbon-based energy projects for Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean.  One of its projects under development is for the large scale production of low carbon and green hydrogen for the petrochemical sector of Trinidad and Tobago.

Philip has been developing other energy decarbonisation opportunities in the Caribbean, including in geothermal-rich Dominica. He has also been an advocate for regional green energy integration across the Region.

Philip is also the Founder of the Heroes Foundation – a registered not-for-profit non-governmental organisation which was established in 2002, to “Create the Next Generation of Heroes”.

Philip holds a Bachelors of Chemical Engineering from McGill University. He has held management and leadership roles in the Trinidad and Tobago energy sector since returning in 2001.

Vivian Rambarath-Parasram is an accomplished Attorney at Law, serving as an Assistant Professor of Maritime Studies and holding the position of Director and Head of MTCC Caribbean. With over 25 years of experience, she has cultivated expertise in diverse areas of maritime governance and marine environmental protection. 

Vivian has spearheaded the development and execution of numerous academic programs aimed at enriching the local and regional maritime industry. Her teaching and research concentrate on the law of the sea, maritime law, policies concerning maritime decarbonization, and the blue economy. 

As a trailblazing member of Women in Maritime Caribbean, Vivian actively promotes gender diversity and inclusion in the maritime sector. 

She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of the West Indies and pursued specialized training in maritime law at the IMO International Maritime Law Institute in Malta, complemented by various postgraduate degrees.