UNCTAD, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are holding a side-event at COP 28 entitled: The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy: defining the global level-playing-field for shipping decarbonization.
This side event will outline the ambitions in the 2023 GHG Strategy and highlight the need for collaboration amongst all stakeholders to reach the goals.
Programme
Welcome remarks and 2023 IMO GHG Strategy: key elements
- Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, Director, Marine Environment Division and incoming Secretary-General, IMO
Intergovernmental collaboration to support a net-zero future for international shipping
- Mr. Francesco La Camera, Director-General, IRENA
- Ms. Rebecca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UNCTAD [Video message]
Government perspectives on the implementation of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy
Moderator:
- Ms. Johannah Christensen, CEO, Global Maritime Forum
Speakers:
- Mr. Mark Harbers, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Netherlands
- Mr. Avinash Persaud, Special envoy to the Prime Minister on investment and financial services, Barbados
- Mr. Ragnhild Sjoner Syrstad, State Secretary to Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway
- Amb. Albon Ishoda, Presidential Special Envoy for Shipping, Marshall Islands
Maritime value chain perspectives on increasing availability of alternative fuels to ensure achieving the reduction targets in the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy
Moderator:
- Mr. Jan Hoffmann, Chief, Trade Logistics Branch, UNCTAD
Speakers:
- Mr. Bud Darr, Group Executive Vice President, Maritime policy and government affairs, MSC
- Mr. Christophe Pouts, Chair of Fuels and Products Working Group, IPIECA
- Ms. Alicia Eastman, President, InterContinental Energy
- Mr. Cem Ugur, Director Group Shipping, Tata Steel
Closing remarks
- Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, IMO
In September 2021, Rebeca Grynspan was appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), becoming the first woman to lead the organization in its 60-year history.
Rebeca Grynspan, an economist and former Vice President of Costa Rica, is an experienced leader of international institutions with a substantive track record in government, UN diplomacy, economic policy and multilateral cooperation at the global level.
Prior to joining the United Nations, she was Vice President of Costa Rica and held cabinet positions as Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs and Deputy Finance Minister.
Previously, she served as Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Conference (2014–2021), chairing regional summits of Heads of State and Government; United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. She was a member of the UN Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti, representing the UN Secretary-General.
At UNCTAD, Grynspan has been at the centre of critical negotiations to address global trade and development challenges. She played a decisive role in the successful Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered between the UN, Türkiye, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which enabled the safe export of over 32 million tons of grain, lowered global food prices by 22% and prevented millions from falling into food insecurity. She also leads the UN Global Crisis Response Group on food, energy and finance, and has represented the UN in G20 summits.
Her leadership has been recognized widely. In 2024, she received the Doha Negotiator of the Year Award for spearheading UN efforts to restore Black Sea trade routes. In 2025, Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation awarded her the inaugural Isabel Oyarzábal Women in Multilateralism International Prize for her contribution to multilateralism.
Ms. Grynspan holds degrees in economics from the University of Costa Rica and the University of Sussex, and honorary doctorates from several European universities.
Jan joined the World Bank Transport Global Department in January 2025, as Global Lead Maritime Transport and Ports. Responsibilities include the Container Port Performance Index, the Port Reform Toolkit, and support to World Bank in-country port and shipping projects.
From 2003 to 2024, Jan worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), since 2016 as Head of the Organization’s Trade Logistics Branch. He developed and led technical assistance programs in trade and transport facilitation, co-authored and coordinated the Review of Maritime Transport, and initiated the Maritime Country Profiles, the International Transport Costs Data Set, and the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index.
Previously, Jan spent six years with the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago de Chile, and two years with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London and Santiago. Prior to this, he held part time positions as assistant professor, import-export agent, seafarer, translator, and consultant.
For eight years, he worked part time for the family tramp shipping business Hoffmann Shipping, based in Horneburg, Germany, with a tweendecker registered in St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda.
Jan has studied in Germany, United Kingdom, and Spain, and holds a doctorate degree in Economics from the University of Hamburg. He is member of the boards of various journals and professional associations, and from 2014 to 2018 was president of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME). Dr Hoffmann has been to more than 140 countries and had his hair cut in 95. He has three sons and one wife.
