BIMCO Questions Whether IMO Can Reach Net-Zero Framework Deal by December
Key Takeaways
- •The IMO working group made limited progress toward consensus on the Net-Zero Framework during its September meeting.
- •Member states remain split between two-tier and single-tier greenhouse gas fuel-intensity structures.
- •Governments have not agreed whether the framework should raise funds or how any funds would be allocated.
- •The working group will meet again before MEPC 85, with new proposals and bilateral negotiations expected beforehand.
- •BIMCO expects discussions to continue beyond MEPC 85 and potentially into 2027.
BIMCO has cast doubt on whether the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will have enough time to finalize a new or revised Net-Zero Framework (NZF) at the Marine Environment Protection Committee’s (MEPC) 85 meeting in December.
The IMO’s intersessional working group on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping met in London from September 1-4. According to BIMCO, the meeting “did little to forge consensus” on the main areas of disagreement among member states.
One unresolved issue is the framework’s greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI) trajectory. Member states remain divided over whether the NZF should retain a two-tier structure or adopt a single-tier approach similar to the European Union’s FuelEU Maritime regulation. This remains a central design question for how the framework would structure emissions requirements for shipping.
Governments also disagree over whether the framework should generate funds and, if so, how those funds should be used. The dispute therefore extends beyond the framework’s emissions trajectory to the role of any associated financial mechanism.
“There were sporadic signs of willingness to compromise,” BIMCO said, but added that the compromises remained “still short of detail and more work is needed.”
The working group is scheduled to meet again during the week before the MEPC 85 meeting in December. BIMCO expects member states to submit new proposals and pursue bilateral agreements on core issues in the meantime.
“It is therefore questionable if there is enough time to allow for a new or revised framework to emerge during MEPC 85 in the first week of December,” BIMCO said.
However, the industry body emphasized that MEPC 85 will not mark the end of the negotiation process. “Negotiations will continue into 2027 and with time, consensus may prevail,” BIMCO said.
