The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) proposed Net-Zero Framework (NZF) moved a step closer to being adopted yesterday, after the majority of countries speaking on the first day of a crucial four-day summit about the initiative said they were in favour of the plan — despite threats from the US delegation.

The NZF would introduce mandatory emissions-reduction rules for the global maritime industry, which would lead to a massive increase in the use of green hydrogen-based shipping fuels over the coming decades.

According to the Green Hydrogen Organisation, 200 million tonnes of green ammonia and methanol would be required by 2040 if the framework is adopted by international delegates at the extraordinary meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) at the UN agency’s London headquarters this week.

European states all backed the plan, which would see the most polluting vessels being issued with financial penalties that would be paid into a “net zero fund” that would reward low-emission ships, support training and innovation and make payments to vulnerable states (see panel below).

Those vulnerable small island nations — which had previously said that the NZF did not go far enough to reduce emissions — also came out in favour of the plan at yesterday’s gathering.

However, the US delegation — representing the climate change-denying Trump administration — and some fossil-fuel nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, declared their opposition.

According to Hydrogen Insight’s sister publication, TradeWinds, about 15 nations voiced concern about the framework, while at least 46 nations made statements in support, including some that had abstained from voting at the MEPC meeting in April that approved the draft NZF text by 63 votes to 16.
But only the US clearly stated there should be no regulation of shipping emissions, and Saudi Arabia later tried to roll back some of its objections, saying it did not want to abandon the framework.

The NZF is technically an amendment to Annex VI of the IMO’s Marpol convention on combating marine pollution, and full adoption of the framework requires a two-thirds majority of the 108 nations that have signed up to this annex.

US threats

So the US cannot block the framework from taking force, and US vessels would have to abide by its rules. Nevertheless, the US has tried to thwart adoption of the NZF by threatening to retaliate against nations that support it, and made an ill-fated attempt yesterday to halt

These threats include: sanctions on officials; blocking vessels registered to NZF-supporting countries from US ports; additional port fees on ships owned, operated or flagged by countries supporting the framework; visa restrictions for ship crews; and other commercial and financial penalties.

The US said on Tuesday that the net zero fund “risks becoming a giant environmental slush fund at the expense of the shipping industry and its customers”.

It said the fund was “unprecedented for this organisation to administer” and criticised the decision to press ahead with “expensive and unproven” fuels at the expense of traditional methods.

But IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez pointed out that the UN agency was capable of administering the fund, and that international oil pollution compensation funds were distributed from IMO headquarters in London.

Dominguez had earlier told delegates that adopting the plan would save costs from decarbonisation in the long term and stave off the threat of a hotchpotch of regional schemes.

“Prolonged uncertainty will put off investments and diminish confidence in the IMO, your organisation,” he told the start of the crucial meeting.
Backers of the plan remain confident that it will be agreed and come into force as planned in 2027.

“I am aware that some of you may find the outcome not climate ambitious enough and would have liked to see steeper reduction curves to effectively contribute to reducing global warming,” Dominguez said.

“Others believe that the GFI [Greenhouse Gas fuel intensity] reduction requirements are overly stringent and will place a burden on the shipping industry.

“The IMO Net-Zero Framework is not perfect. However, it provides a balanced basis for our further work on a number of elements ahead of its entry into force in 2027.”