Clean Shipping Coalition Statement on Attempts to Wreck the IMO’s Net Zero Framework
Fully Loaded Cargo Ship on a Sea – Kelly, Pexels
London, 6 March 2026:- In response to reports of alternative proposals to the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework, the Clean Shipping Coalition called on IMO member states to support the NZF so that the shipping industry can meet its own climate goals.
“The Net Zero Framework may not be perfect, but it has the potential to grow into a set of rules that would allow IMO and the shipping industry to meet their climate and environmental justice commitments”, said John Maggs, Clean Shipping Coalition Representative at the IMO. “While the NZF is under fire from a minority of powerful opponents, there is no value in alternative proposals that would result in a set of policies that fail on all fronts.”
“The proposal from Liberia, Panama, and Argentina [1] would jeopardize all the commitments made by member states in the IMO’s 2023 GHG Strategy”, said Maggs. “It would lock in the shipping sector’s dependence on fossil fuels like LNG, putting the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 out of reach. It would also shred the business case for first movers to invest in the production and uptake of zero-emission fuels and energy, delaying the deployment of these long-term solutions and so slowing emission reductions.”
“In addition, by eliminating the Fund that would have addressed the negative impacts on developing states, the proposal would likely lose the support of other countries who only endorsed the NZF because of the fund component and revenue compensation”, continued Maggs. “These other countries were essential to creating the broad support for the NZF that resulted in its approval in the first place.”
“Pacific small island developing states like Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, are correct when they say [2] it is essential for the NZF to be adopted ‘as is’ to keep shipping’s just and equitable energy transition alive”, concluded Maggs.
ENDS
Notes:
[1] Contained in document MEPC 84/7/38.
[2] See document MEPC 84/7/28 & 36
Contact:
Dave Walsh, press@cleanshipping.org, +34 691 826 764
About the Clean Shipping Coalition:
The Clean Shipping Coalition is an international association of civil society environmental protection organisations, and the only one with a purely shipping focus.
We help develop and drive global environment and climate laws on shipping, principally at the United Nation’s shipping regulator, the International Maritime Organization.
