A decisive moment for global shipping regulation unfolded last week as the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) concluded its 83rd session, which culminated in the approval of draft amendments establishing the ‘IMO Net-Zero Framework’. This global mechanism will combine mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) limits with carbon pricing for the maritime sector and represents a move towards achieving the goals laid out in the IMO’s 2023 GHG Strategy, which targets net zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050, supported by interim reduction goals for 2030 and 2040. Hailed by the IMO as a world-first for any industry sector, the measures are set to apply to large vessels over 5,000 gross tonnage – the segment responsible for about 85% of shipping’s CO2 emissions.
IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez was in a celebratory mood at the end of proceedings: “The approval of draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI mandating the IMO net-zero framework represents another significant step in our collective efforts to combat climate change, to modernize shipping and demonstrates that IMO delivers on its commitments.” Framework mechanics The Net-Zero Framework, to be integrated into MARPOL Annex VI, Chapter 5, is built upon two key pillars: a global fuel standard and an economic measure. MARPOL Annex VI, with its wide ratification covering 97% of global tonnage, provides the existing legal foundation. The Global Fuel Standard requires ships to progressively decrease their annual greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI). Calculated on a well-to-wake basis, the GFI measures GHG emissions per unit of energy used. Ships must meet increasingly stringent GFI reduction targets over time, driving the adoption of lower-emission fuels and technologies.
Complementing this is the Global Economic Measure, introducing a GHG emissions pricing mechanism. Vessels exceeding the permitted GFI levels will need to acquire “remedial units” to cover their emissions deficit. Conversely, high-performing ships using zero or near-zero (ZNZ) GHG technologies, achieving emissions below a tighter ‘Compliance Target’, can earn financial rewards and tradable “surplus units”. Compliance incorporates flexibility. Ships can meet their obligations by acquiring surplus units from others, using previously banked units, or purchasing remedial units via contributions to a new central fund. A cornerstone of the economic measure is the establishment of the IMO Net-Zero Fund. This fund will pool the contributions generated by the emissions pricing.
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