London, 27 March 2025: Ahead of a hectic two weeks
at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Clean
Shipping Coalition is calling for action from governments on
three key fronts to ensure the sector slashes its climate
heating impacts:
- ISWG-GHG-19
(Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG
Emissions), which will try to reach agreement on a
global fuel standard and greenhouse
gas levy (two days, March 31- April
1) - The three-day ISWG-APEE 1
(Intersessional Working Group on Air Pollution and Energy
Efficiency) will aim to revise and improve the functioning
of the IMO’s carbon intensity indicator (CII)
(April 2-4) - During MEPC 83
(April 7-11) – the IMO’s Marine Environment
Protect Committee is scheduled to approve legal text on each
of three issues detailed below. What they approve during
MEPC 83 will then be adopted (the final stage) at an
extraordinary session of MEPC in October
2025.
“The coming two weeks at the IMO gives
governments a crucial window to slash shipping’s climate
heating greenhouse gas emissions”, said Delaine
McCullough, Ocean Conservancy’s Shipping Emissions Policy
Manager and President of the Clean Shipping Coalition.
“This means that IMO member states must secure agreements
on ambitious energy efficiency measures – the carbon
intensity indicator, as well as enforceable fuel standards
and a greenhouse gas levy, which together could dramatically
reduce shipping’s contribution to heating the
planet”.
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“By the time the gavel comes down on
April 11th, IMO Member States must agree that the planned
revision of the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) will take
place without delay, to ensure the CII can make the
necessary contribution to reaching the 2030 IMO greenhouse
gas strategy targets”, said McCullough. “The CII must
quantify and raise ship efficiency while fostering greater
transparency and driving deep and lasting reductions in
pollution, moving the sector towards a just,equitable, and
lowest-cost transition to zero emission shipping. This
revision should maximise the operational efficiency of ships
now and in the future to drive down the amount of fuel
burned in the long-term, and actively favour the primary use
of wind and solar for ship propulsion”.
The Clean
Shipping Coalition is calling for ambitious action by
governments on three key fronts to propel the sector towards
slashing its climate heating impacts:
Global
Fuel/Energy Standards
: Clear, enforceable
fuel/energy standards will catalyse the transition to clean
energy. By incentivizing early investment in wind power and
zero-GHG fuels, these standards will reduce emissions and
spur the creation of green jobs and resilient economies
worldwide. The IMO
failed to make progress during February’s meeting –
during ISWG-GHG-19, IMO member states must determine how
ships will be expected to reduce their emissions and which
fuels and technologies will count as green – and
acceptable.
Equitable Implementation of a Pollution
Fee
: Holding polluters accountable via a greenhouse
gas emission levy would provide a clear market signal to
drive emission reductions and ensure a just and equitable
transition to clean shipping. The resulting revenue can be
used to support vulnerable nations and ensure all can play a
part in the energy transition. More than 60 countries
already support such a levy, and the Clean Shipping
Coalition is calling for a robust, stand-alone levy of at
least $150 per ton of GHG to provide the necessary funding
for an equitable transition. See also UCL’s Energy
Institute: “uncertainty
and instability created by a credit-trading policy
architecture favours states with strong industrial
policy”.
Carbon Intensity Indicator
: The
CII is the IMO’s tool for measuring and enhancing a ship’s
energy efficiency, expressed in grams of CO2 emitted per
cargo-carrying capacity and nautical mile. The CII is key to
creating more energy efficient ships and cutting emissions
in the short term, but should also be seen as a long-term
tool specifically calibrated for improving and maintaining
on-board operational efficiency and to suppress fuel burn to
the greatest extent possible. In the ongoing review of the
CII, most substantive action has been delayed by years.
However, during the first week of April, countries have the
chance to up ambition via new efficiency targets and by
extending the measure beyond its premature phaseout in
2030.
A strong CII would:
- Reduce
demand for fuel, leading to immediate cuts in GHG emissions
from fossil fuels; - Help reduce the wasteful and
costly burning of expensive energy-intensive new zero-GHG
emission fuels in the future; and would - Drive the
shift towards the kind of shipping change, e.g., slower
speeds and more wind propulsion, that will minimise the cost
of decarbonisation and deliver important ocean-health
co-benefits.
“Wind power must be central to
the IMO discussions – It’s a proven, cost-effective
technology that immediately cuts emissions, eases the energy
transition, reduces reliance on alternative fuels and
benefits the planet. Scaling up wind technology to the
global fleet can bring the IMO closer to their GHG and
energy targets and the best part? It’s ready to go now. Wind
is the true hero in the push for clean, sustainable
shipping”, said Anaïs Rios, Shipping Policy
Officer, Seas At Risk.
“We have
finally reached the moment when countries must set binding
targets for ships to decarbonize and decide which clean
fuels and technologies will enable us to reach these
targets. However, IMO member states must not weaken the
climate ambition offered by the Global Fuel Standard and the
levy for the sake of short-term compromise. Governments must
make a choice: will this negotiation be a big bang moment
for climate action – or just a matchstick spark that fails
to set a clear course to 2050?”, said Constance
Dijkstra, IMO Policy Manager at Transport
& Environment.
“The IMO is at a
crossroads: next week and in early April, governments must
come together and agree on measures that can help drive the
transition to zero-emission fuels and technologies and reach
the IMO GHG Strategy objectives. The policies agreed during
the meeting cannot afford to be a drop in the ocean.
Anything less than a high and effective levy will fail to
deliver the incentives needed for shipping’s
decarbonisation and a just, equitable transition. So far,
so-called ‘bridging’ proposals on the table fall short
and barely make a ripple—this is the moment to raise the
bar”, said Bastien Bonnet-Cantalloube, Expert on
Decarbonisation of Aviation and Shipping,
at Carbon Market
Watch
‘We have all, in some way, felt the
impacts of the climate crisis. Whether through rising seas,
devastating storms, diseases, or the gradual disappearance
of once-familiar seasons—the impacts of the climate,
biodiversity, and pollution crisis are no longer a distant
threat. Shipping is both a cause of this planetary upheaval
and has the potential to be a catalyst for its reversal,’
said Elissama Menezes, Director of Equal
Routes. ‘At this week’s IMO meeting it is
critical to agree on a strong fuel levy which will enable a
Just and Equitable Transition for vulnerable nations and
people. There isn’t any compromise on this. As a companion
to this levy a focus on solutions with co-benefits—where
reversing biodiversity loss and reducing pollution can
simultaneously drive meaningful climate action. This
shipping nexus approach requires MEPC to designate an ad hoc
working group to get it off the ground and we’re hopeful
that there will be broad acceptance in order for this
important work to get started.’
Other Issues Coming
up at the IMO:
Emission Control Areas and
Scrubbers
During MEPC 83, organisations like
the Clean
Arctic Alliance will call on member states to support
a proposal for a new Northeast Atlantic emission control
area to enter into force in 2027, along with a proposal
for resolution
that call on shipping operators to avoid using scrubbers
and end release of scrubber discharge wastes in marine
protected areas, habitats important for endangered wildlife,
and other ecologically sensitive areas such as the
Arctic.
Plastic
Pollution
“Plastic
pellets are once again washing up on Europe’s shores, this
time after the accident in the North Sea, highlighting just
how current voluntary measures are not good enough. This is
not an isolated incident, and member states fail to learn.
The Grangemouth crash should have triggered an immediate and
robust spill response, yet nothing was done until pellets
began washing up on shore. These repeated failures show that
relying on industry goodwill is not protecting our seas or
communities. Once again, progress at MEPC has been limited
to a single plenary discussion. We urgently need binding
global measures for how pellets are packaged, stowed, and
transported, with proper notification to implement spill
responses when things go wrong,” said Amy
Youngman, Legal and Policy Specialist at
the Environmental Investigation
Agency.
