The 80th gathering of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) wrapped up at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization on Friday with a revised greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy announced.
The levels of ambitions agreed within the revised strategy include peaking GHG emissions as soon as possible and to reach net-zero by or around 2050, mindful of different national circumstances.
There will be indicative checkpoints to reach net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping of 20% striving for 30% by 2030, and 70% striving for 80% by 2040, compared to 2008 levels.
IMO member states also agreed that low-carbon and zero-carbon fuels/energy source uptake for international shipping will be at least 5%, striving for 10%, by 2030.
Discussions surrounding economic measures such as a carbon levy will be investigated further in the coming years with a view to promulgating in the first half of 2026.
IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim said the revised strategy was a starting point for the work that needs to intensify even more over the years and decades ahead.
“With the revised strategy that you have now agreed on, we have a clear direction, a common vision, and ambitious targets to guide us to deliver what the world expects from us,” Lim told delegates on Friday.
Simon Bennett, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) deputy secretary-general, remarked: “This historic IMO agreement gives a very strong signal to ship operators and, most importantly, to energy producers who must now urgently supply zero GHG marine fuels in very large quantities if such a rapid transition is to be possible.”
“This agreement sends a clear signal to investors in the production of new green fuels and new green ships that the green transition will happen and that there is a plan for when. We couldn’t have wished for much better,” said Anne Steffensen, director-general and CEO of Danish Shipping.
Wilfried Lemmens, managing director of the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association, said: “More specific wording on the actual deadline would have been welcomed but we understand the need for some flexibility where needed to achieve the goal. Most importantly, this is the first industry-specific climate agreement. It is the foundation to further ensure a level-playing field in the sector.”
“While the 2023 IMO GHG strategy falls short of being clearly aligned to a 1.5-degree pathway, it does set expectations for reductions by 2030 and 2040, for the adoption of global measures, and envisions a just and equitable transition,” said Dr Alison Shaw, policy lead at UMAS, a commercial advisory service affiliated with the UCL Energy Institute at University College London.
According to estimates from the International Council on Clean Transportation, international shipping will exceed its 1.5°C carbon budget by approximately 2032 under this agreement.
Jan Hoffmann, head of the trade logistics branch at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), expressed his disappointment at the vagueness of the agreed text.
“The more vague measures and goals are, the less certainty they provide to investors in the public and private sector,” Hoffman told Splash.
