International community falls short of adopting landmark rules to cut shipping emissions

NZF still ’very much alive’

With years of negotiations behind the shipping decarbonisation amendments that include the Net-Zero Framework, and an April 2025 vote that approved the amendments to Marpol, the move to adjourn was not widely expected.

Despite the delay and uncertainty about its adoption, during a press conference following the closure of proceedings, IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said the existing framework plan remained on the table and ’very much alive’.

"The framework is not adopted, but we were already working on developing the guidelines [if] the framework [had been] approved. So the amendments remain approved. The session has been adjourned to continue in one year, again, to address the adoption of the amendments," he said.

Asked if the adjournment was a ’blow’ to IMO, with alleged reports from delegates that "outside pressure [is] what dictated the outcome" of the vote, Mr Dominguez said he did not see it that way, while noting the particular challenges and weighty geopolitical stakes that surround climate agreements.

"It wasn’t the normal meetings of IMO, but this is a topic that, you know, transcends IMO," he said. "The geopolitics in the world right now makes it, as well, more challenging for us to make progress in certain topics. But I will maintain that member states have the right to express their opinion, to negotiate amongst each other. I’m not here to qualify that. I’m here to continue to work with all of them... and that’s why there’s further work, not only on the guidelines, but the negotiations that will continue to take place in between now that we have adjourned and when we resume in a year’s time."

Pointing out IMO’s "main framework" rules on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) remain "the basis for any discussions," Mr Dominguez said the organisation can still move forward on several fronts.

"We’re still calculating and providing information annually in relation to the efficiency of shipping made on the data collection systems. The goals that remained in the 2023 IMO agenda, [they] remain there as indicative goals," he said, in reference to a 2023 revision to the IMO GHG strategy that saw the organisation set target reductions for 2030, through to targeting a reduction of GHGs to net zero by or around 2050.

"And of course, with the technical measures, as I said in the past, we can still move forward in relation to meeting the [total annual GHG reductions form shipping] of 20% and striving for 30% [by 2030]. And of course, there are many proactive actions that can take place to continue to incentivise the transition of shipping... and allow us to meet the other goal of uptake of alternative fuels," he said.

According to IMO, the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy also includes a level of ambition relating to the uptake of zero or near-zero (ZNZ) GHG emission technologies, fuels and/or energy sources which are to represent at least 5%, striving for 10%, of the energy used by international shipping by 2030.

Reactions to the delay in adopting a net-zero framework

A host of organisations published reactions to the early adjournment, without a decision, of the IMO meeting that had been expected to address and potentially set formal, binding requirements for the decarbonisation of the shipping sector over the next 25 years.

“Today’s adjournment is a disappointing setback for shipping, but not the end of this journey. The adjournment for a full year creates serious challenges for meeting the timelines in the Net-Zero Framework agreed in April and will make delivery of the sector’s decarbonisation targets even more challenging," said director of decarbonisation for the non-profit maritime decarbonisation facilitator Global Maritime Forum, Jesse Fahnestock.

“We encourage member states that agreed on the framework in April to reconfirm their commitment to multilateralism and continue the urgent work of developing guidelines and adopting a regulatory framework that can deliver on IMO’s unanimously agreed Greenhouse Gas Strategy,” he said.

The EU called the delay "regrettable," and said it remained committed to "an ambitious, science-based global framework" to decarbonise shipping through a "just, equitable" transition.

UCL Energy Institute Professor of Energy and Transport Dr Tristan Smith said, “This is catastrophic for confidence, and therefore also for the equitable and ambitious decarbonisation we need. We will now have to double-down on other means to drive shipping GHG reduction and energy transition. Climate science tells us that the challenge of decarbonisation does not go away, it gets harder. This delay therefore means those with the means must step up and lead more than ever, until this multilateral process can regain its composure.”

ICS Secretary General Thomas A Kazakos said his organisation is "disappointed that member states have not been able to agree a way forward at this meeting. Industry needs clarity to be able to make the investments needed to decarbonise the maritime sector, in line with the goals set out in the IMO GHG strategy. As an industry we will continue to work with IMO, which is the best organisation to deliver the global regulations needed for a global industry.”

New evidence shows benefits of ’stringent climate policies’

A new study by by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) shows that pursuing net-zero climate policies and avoiding temporary overshoot of the 1.5°C temperature limit set in the UN’s Paris Agreement on climate change could prevent 207,000 premature deaths and save billions of dollars in economic damages by 2030 by improving air quality. The research highlights that ambitious climate action not only limits global warming but also delivers immediate health and economic "co-benefits, providing strong evidence for the importance of stringent mitigation policies worldwide".

"Air pollution is one of the world’s leading health risks, contributing to nearly 1 in 8 deaths globally. A new study published in Science Advances... shows that stringent climate policies designed to avoid temporarily exceeding 1.5°C warming could prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths while avoiding trillions of dollars in economic damages," the CMCC said

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