During the 83rd meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) held between 7-11 April, the IMO reached an agreement on a Net-zero Framework that will combine a fuel standard with a global pricing mechanism for shipping emissions.
The agreed measures, which will apply to ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above, are expected to be formally adopted in October 2025 and should enter into force in 2027.
The draft regulations consist of the following main elements:
1. Global fuel standard. Ships will be compelled to reduce their annual greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI) over time, which will be calculated through a well-to-wake approach.
2. Global economic measure. Ships emitting more then allowed by the GFI thresholds will need to purchase “remedial units” to balance deficit emissions while ships using zero-emission or near zero-emission technologies will be eligible for financial rewards. Ships emitting above the threshold can also use transferred surplus units from other ships or use surplus units they have already banked.
A Net-Zero Fund will be established to collect the contributions paid by shipping which will be used to support, among others, innovation, research and infrastructure.
Source: IMO.
