The Maritime Executive: Op-Ed: NZF is the Only Option for Delivering on IMO’s Climate Commitments
By John Maggs, the Clean Shipping Coalition’s Representative to the International Maritime Organization.
Published by The Maritime Executive, 26 May 2026.
The IMO’s Net-Zero Framework is back on track. A majority of International Maritime Organization member states continue to support the framework – which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships in line with its 2023 greenhouse gas reduction strategy – despite significant pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Panama and Liberia.
The NZF’s supporters have been further vindicated by last week’s landslide vote by the UN General Assembly to adopt the International Court of Justice’s climate crisis ruling. Now it is clear that for the UN, “tackling the climate crisis is a legal duty under international law, and not just a political choice.”
While pressure on the NZF now seems to have eased somewhat, supportive governments – many of which have called for the NZF’s urgent adoption – will need to remain vigilant and strong in order to parry inevitable future attacks and attempts to further delay the process of adoption, which is currently scheduled for early December.
Continue reading: Op-Ed: NZF is the Only Option for Delivering on IMO’s Climate Commitments
