The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has reiterated its backing of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Net-Zero Framework amid ‘increasing speculation’ over the decision to be made by member states in October.
The Framework, which would introduce the first global pricing mechanism for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping, is scheduled to be formally adopted at an extraordinary session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), following its approval by the organisation’s member states in a majority vote in April.
The proposed global regulation was rejected by the United States, which has threatened retaliation against countries that would back the framework.
In a statement published today (24 September), IBIA said that it ‘appreciates the sensitivity of the matter,’ but emphasised that ‘at stake is not just the future energy transition of international shipping and the goal of decarbonising the sector, but also the credibility of the governance framework for regulating shipping that has enabled the vast expansion of global trade and commerce over the past 50 years.’
The industry association warned that a failure to maintain IMO’s role as the primary regulator of international shipping ‘risks the proliferation of national and regional carbon-pricing mechanisms, leading to additional barriers to trade.’
Following the planned adoption, IBIA signalled it would support ‘as a priority’ the development of reward mechanisms for ships that use Zero or Near-Zero (ZNZ) fuels. ‘This is to ensure that the earliest possible signal is sent to ZNZ fuel producers to make the necessary investments,’ the association said. It also called for further clarification on issues such as the possible use of default emission factors for bunkering.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has also backed the IMO Net-Zero Framework and called for more clarity on rewards for ZNZ fuels in a statement published in July.
The upcoming MEPC decision took centre-stage at London International Shipping Week, with the chief of classification society ABS urging the IMO to ‘pause and rethink’ and the IMO Secretary-General expressing his confidence that the framework will be adopted as scheduled.
Related: U.S. attempt to derail IMO Framework very unlikely to succeed, says UCL’s Tristan Smith
Photo: IMO
